Happy Anniversary
by All About Eric
Summary: Sookie offers Eric his heart's desire, and in doing so finds her own.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was our first anniversary. Exactly one year ago Eric had pledged (tricked!) me with the knife and we celebrated pretty much all night, with the most mind-blowing sex I had ever had. He had been by turns wild, tender, masterful, inventive, loving and completely indefatigable (a new one from my Word of the Day calendar). Now we lay in my bed together, Eric's head pillowed on my breasts as I stroked his long golden hair. He was completely relaxed; eyes closed and almost purring with pleasure, like a great cat. I decided the time had come. I took a deep breath and took the first step on the road that would change my life for ever. And I do mean, for ever.

"Eric…"

"Mmmm?" he snuggled into me a little more, not opening his eyes. He loved these times when we just cuddled and talked, and so did I. Usually. This one might be a bit different, though.

"Have you ever thought about the future?"

"What do you mean, lover?"

"Well, about what will happen when I grow old, and eventually die."

"Of course I have." His voice sounded solemn and he moved so that he was propped up on one elbow, looking at me with those intense blue eyes of his. "I faced that reality when I first knew that I loved you, but there is no alternative unless I turn you, and you have made it very clear that you do not want that. I promised I would never turn you against your will, however much I may want to keep you, and I will keep my word."  
"Have you ever loved a human woman before? Since you became a vampire, I mean?"

"Only once. I think it was in the fourteenth century. I was in Hamburg and I fell in love with a young woman called Elizabeth, and she fell in love with me. The Black Death was in the city and they closed the gates to prevent people from leaving. I could have flown to safety, but she could not, and at that stage of my life I was not strong enough to carry her. I offered to turn her, to protect her, but she said she wanted to think about it, and the next night when I rose she was gone from the house. I searched the city frantically for two nights, and when I eventually found her, lying in a filthy alley, the disease had already done its work. She died in squalor and in pain, while I was sleeping. And then I was alone." He paused, briefly, thinking back over the centuries. "I vowed I would never again open myself up to such grief. Until her death I had tried to retain some semblance of humanity, of feeling, and she helped me in that, but afterwards I deliberately suppressed any of the softer emotions. I pursued power single-mindedly. Many women loved me, and I enjoyed their bodies and sometimes their company, but I never allowed any of them into my heart, and I never allowed them to feed on me. I became less and less human, and more and more ruthless, using and discarding women as their usefulness came to an end or as I grew bored with them. Apart from Pam, whom I turned, I kept my vow for six hundred years, right up until I met you, my lover. You changed me, and I still don't know how." He smiled at me, tenderly.

"Tell me about it." I really wanted to hear the words. Yes, it was self-indulgent, yes, it was shallow, and yes, I was going to enjoy every minute of it. Eric didn't open up like this very often.

He reached out and stroked my hair, running his long white fingers through the tangles.

"When I first saw you, in that little red-and-white summer dress, you looked so different from everyone around you; somehow fresh and innocent, like a white flower growing in a dark forest. I found you sexually very attractive and was mildly annoyed that Bill had pronounced you his. I was intrigued when I found I couldn't glamour you…" here I interrupted him.

"So you were trying to glamour me! I thought so! I could feel it, but I had no idea what you wanted. Bill said you shouldn't even have been doing that since you knew I was his. He said it was a breach of vampire etiquette."

He had the grace to look slightly embarrassed.

"Er, yes, he's quite right. I shouldn't have, but I couldn't resist teasing him a little. He's always so uptight."

"So what were you trying to get me to do?"

Eric grinned. "I was trying to glamour you into losing your temper and throwing your drink over him, and then storming outside, where I would have been waiting to comfort you."

"Well, I hope you're thoroughly ashamed of yourself, Eric Northman! And it would have served you right if I'd just left you to be caught in that police raid. "

"It would indeed. Your advance warning was the first hint of your…unusual qualities. Then, of course, I saw you as a tool which could be potentially very useful to me, and which would enhance my power and status, so I set myself to winning your trust, with the intention of removing you from Bill's influence. But you would not come to me. You could not be glamoured, bribed, seduced or frightened into leaving Bill's protection. It was a unique experience; for the first time in nearly a thousand years, I could not simply take what I wanted.

I found it hugely frustrating but also quite piquant. I began to feel that you were worthy of pursuit, and I studied you more closely, as a hunter studies his prey. I saw your courage, your independent spirit, your sense of fun, your innate decency. Of course I also saw that you were incredibly desirable, and I wanted to fuck you in the worst way, but it was more than that. Just thinking about you – and I found myself doing that far more often than I wanted to – stirred old, forgotten feelings in me. I had almost forgotten what it was like to be human, but I found myself looking for ways to please you. The fact that I couldn't have you made you even more attractive. I did not believe you were indifferent to me – the few times we had been physically close, your body had responded even if your mind and heart had not – and then I lost my memory and you took me in, even though I had previously manipulated and exploited you shamelessly, and those days were some of the best of my long life. I experienced emotions I had not felt in centuries, and I was … happy.

Even though my memory came back and we went back to our old lives, things were different between us. When you became my bonded in Rhodes, I thought things would improve, but it was worse. I now had a small insight into your feelings, but not enough – I was incredibly frustrated. I found myself wanting to protect you, to care for you, simply to be with you. Your well-being mattered to me. I had bought you a new coat and had your drive mended, but these were small and trivial things, costing me only money, of which I have more than I can spend. I wanted to do so much more for you. Every night when I woke my first thought was of you, and every dawn I fell asleep with your image in front of my eyes. Eventually, when I found myself sitting at my desk re-reading the same contract three times without taking in any of it, because I had been wondering what you were doing, I realised that I had been betrayed by my feelings. Suddenly, I cared more about your happiness than about my own, and that was when I knew I was in love with you. That was why I promised that I would never turn you, even though in making that promise, I knew I was condemning myself to endless centuries of sorrow and loneliness." He paused, then rolled on top of me and looked down, smiling. "But we have many years together first, so let's make the most of them." His hands began to drift down my body and gently stroke my thigh. OK Sookie. This was it. No going back.

"I've changed my mind."

"What about, dear heart?" He was nuzzling my ear and his words were a little muffled.

"About being turned. I want you to."

"What?" He jerked upright and his hands ceased their motion. His blue gaze was suddenly very piercing. He scanned my face, trying to make sense of what he had just heard.

"I want you to turn me. I don't ever want to leave you. I want to belong to you for ever."

"Sookie, are you serious? You're not ….you're not teasing me?" The expression of mingled doubt and hope on his face was painful to see.

"I wouldn't tease you over something like this, Eric. I want to be a vampire. Well, actually I _really_ don't, but I want to be with you and if that's the only way I can do it, then bring it on." I sat up in bed and looked at him seriously. "I've been thinking about this for a while now. I've spoken to a lot of other vamps, just discreetly, sounding them out about what it means, what the implications are, and I've decided that this is what I want." My voice faltered, suddenly less sure of myself as he remained silent. What if _he_ didn't really want this? Had I misread the situation? A cold feeling filled me as he continued to stare at me, motionless. "Eric? Honey? Have I made a mistake? I thought this was what you wanted. Was I wrong? I'm real sorry if I've upset you in some way, but I thought…" my voice tailed away miserably.

Then I was in his arms and being crushed against his chest, his huge hand pressing my head to his shoulder. Eventually he released me and I could see scarlet streaks on his face. He was weeping.

He said hoarsely. "My darling, you have no idea how I've longed to hear you say those words." His arms gripped me again like iron bands and he held me close. I was breathless, but unbelievably happy. The broadest smile I had ever seen wreathed his face. His fangs were fully out and he could barely contain himself. He released me, wiped his eyes (on the sheet!) leaped from the bed and began pacing the room, words tumbling from him as he laid out his plans.

"We must arrange this very carefully. Your life will be very different from now on. It will take a little time to make all the preparations, but this must be done properly."

"Preparations? What do you mean, baby? What are you talking about? I thought you just took my blood and then gave me yours." He came back to the bed and sat briefly, holding my hands. "This is not going to be some furtive, sordid procedure in a back alley somewhere, my heart; this is going to be done properly. I am going to honour you as you should be honoured. It doesn't happen very often that a sheriff turns someone – maybe once in a hundred years – but there are protocols and precedents to be followed."

"Why doesn't it happen very often?"

"Well, new vampires are very high-maintenance. They require a lot of time and attention to ensure that they make the transition safely – both for themselves and for others. Sheriffs are usually too busy to do this properly, and it's not a task that can be delegated. A new vampire answers only to his or her maker, and no-one else would have the authority to prevent them from running wild and doing harm to our community. But you would be different."

"Why?"

"The biggest part of the adjustment between human and vampire is nearly always the culture shock – the learning new ways, adapting to new priorities, new associates, new loyalties. But you've spent so much time with me and at Fangtasia that this would not be nearly so difficult for you; you're quite familiar with our ways. Also, you have had so much of my blood that I strongly suspect that you are already part-vampire." He was pacing the room again.

"So, I don't get any extra attention?" I pouted and he turned and looked at me.

"My lover, you will be my first priority, now and for ever. In fact, I think a little extra attention may be called for right now." His voice sank to a growl as he approached the bed and there was a certain look in his eyes which I loved to see, but right now there were more important things to discuss. "Hold your horses, mister. I think we have a few more things to discuss first." The slight acidity in my tone brought him back to earth. He paused and then smiled, and said,

"Of course, you're absolutely right. I was just so happy I couldn't help myself. How would it be if I were to tell you the various customs and then you can decide if you want to follow any of those traditions or do things entirely differently?"

"Ok, honey. I just need to visit the bathroom and then I'll be right back."

He smiled again. "That's something you won't need to worry about when you are vampire." He was right, of course. I paid my visit and then wrapped myself in my bathrobe and came back to sit in a chair, watching him while he prowled the room. He seemed unable to sit still for more than a few seconds – I had never seen him so energised except when in battle. I loved watching him. Well, he was six-foot-four, he was built like a Greek god and he was stark naked. What's not to like?

"Let me fill you in on what actually happens. To bring you over, I have to drain you of all your blood, and then just at the point of death, give you my blood to replace it. You then fall into a sleep resembling death. It used to be that you were then buried and at some point over the next few nights you would rise vampire, but that was a bit hit-and-miss. We discovered centuries ago that if your maker shared the grave with you, in close physical contact with you, the period was substantially shortened. Somehow my essence passes into you, nobody really understands how it works and it doesn't involve sex – just a close embrace - and exactly 24 hours later you rise. These days most people use a coffin rather than a grave. It's as simple as that. But there are two things you must know." Here he grew very serious, for a moment, and looked at me intently, trying to impress his words on me. "Firstly, there is sometimes a…" he paused, trying to find the correct words. "A…change in personality. People can be very different after they become vampire. It doesn't always happen – Pam, for example, was exactly the same before and after being brought over, and so was I, more or less. I think there is not much danger of change for those with a strong personality, and you certainly have that, my lover." There was a rueful smile on his face; he'd experienced my "strong personality" on many occasions, but he usually called it something else. Stubborn, pig-headed, and idiotic were just three of the milder terms he had used. He continued, "however, there is another element of risk involved. Occasionally, very occasionally, the procedure goes wrong. The maker miscalculates the correct moment and leaves it too late to give his own blood. If that should happen, you would truly die. Are you willing to trust me enough to take that risk?" His intense blue eyes searched mine and I smiled at him. "I trust you, Eric. I will take any risk, to be with you." He smiled delightedly and continued. "The two parts of the ritual can be done privately or publicly. Sometimes we invite friends to witness it. How would you feel about that?"

Oh. Not a good idea. "I really don't think I would want my friends and family to see this. I don't know how they're gonna feel about the whole thing." Actually, I had a pretty good idea, and I didn't want to think about it right then.

"Maybe you're right. Humans often find such ceremonies a little offputting. Would you rather we did the whole thing privately?" I could tell he wanted to show me off to the whole world, but he was willing to go along with my wishes. I was touched at this thoughtfulness.

"How about we do the draining (ick!) part privately, and then you can invite whoever you want to the…."

"The rising."

"Yeah. The rising. Would that work for you, honey? Then all your vamp friends and associates wouldn't feel slighted in any way."

"That sounds an excellent idea. I could invite the king as well. Then you could offer him fealty immediately. That is something you would have to do sooner or later, as a new vampire living in his kingdom, and it would save us a trip to Las Vegas."

"This fealty thing. I've seen it done, in Rhodes, but what does it involve?"

"Well, as you know, vampires live in a loosely hierarchical society. Over the centuries we have found that to be the most efficient way of co-existing. Each area is controlled by a sheriff – me in this case – and I hold my area directly from the king. In return for his protection and authority I have to offer fealty to him – that is an oath of loyalty and obedience. Every vampire who wishes to live in my area must offer me fealty, which in turn means it is offered to the king through me. Senior vampires must swear directly to the king, and that would include you, as my consort."

"Your consort?"

"My wife, partner, spouse, whatever phrase you wish to use. Since we were pledged with the knife, that is what you are."

"But I've never had to swear loyalty before."

"As a human you were outside our power structures, but as a vampire you must live within them. Does this trouble you?" He was concerned, and came to kneel next to the chair I was seated in.

"No, not really, but I think I would like to understand a bit more about the whole maker-child bond thing. You know, the compulsion to obedience stuff?"

"Yes?"

"Well, if you're my maker, how will that affect our relationship? I mean, I don't see myself as your child, I'm your lover, your girlfriend, your wife, if you insist. I want to be your equal, not your slave, particularly when we're in bed together."

He laughed softly.

"Oh, my Sookie. It would be a braver man than I who attempted to enslave you. You would certainly be required to obey me in public, but in the bedroom… that is a different matter altogether." I raised an eyebrow, cynically. "You don't believe me? I will prove it to you. Command me, mistress, and I shall obey."

"Well… I'm getting a bit chilly; I could use a blanket."

There was a blur of movement, and a fresh fluffy blue blanket from the airing closet was being placed tenderly about my shoulders.

"Anything else, my lady?"

"A cuddle would be nice." In an instant he had scooped me up in his arms and was holding me tenderly as he returned with me to the bed, discarding my bathrobe and leaning with his back against the headboard. I sighed and leaned against him, warm, safe, loved. "Tell me more about the ceremony."

"Before we do this, there are a number of decisions you will have to make, my love," he said. "You will have to decide if you wish to continue working at Merlotte's. And if so, you will have to inform the shifter that you can only cover the night-shift from here on in. Then you must decide what to do about this house. Will you sell it and move in with me or retain it as a base for yourself, or hire it out? I know how you value your independence, and so the decisions are yours to make. Also, you will have to find some way of telling your friends and your brother what you are planning, and there I am afraid I cannot help you. I am sorry, but this is something you are best equipped to do. If I tried they would resent it. I have seen this before. However, if they take it badly I will support and comfort you." He shifted slightly, a faintly uneasy expression crossed his face.

"Then before the actual ceremony, you would do well to ensure that your body is in the condition you wish to take into eternity." I must have looked puzzled, so he elaborated; "You are fortunate, Sookie, because you will be able to choose your time and place of entering on your new life; the majority of vampires are turned against their will and so have no opportunity to make these choices. For example, the day before I met Ocella I had been away raiding for some time and so had quite a heavy beard, that I shaved off for my visit to Gudrun's homestead. Had I been turned while wearing that, it would still be with me. Do you think you could have loved me with a beard?" He smiled at me, and I wrinkled my nose as I tried to picture him with his face half-hidden by wiry golden bristles, but I couldn't do so. "Therefore, decide on the length of hair you wish to have, and attend to any other…er… personal matters of a similar nature." His voice changed and I turned to look at him. I couldn't believe it. The Viking vampire was embarrassed! I smiled to myself and asked him innocently,

"I'm not sure what you mean, Eric."

"Well, I was thinking of things like plucking your eyebrows, trimming your fingernails to your preferred length, er, depilating any relevant areas, that sort of thing." I couldn't resist teasing him a little further.

"Do you have any preferences in that line? Would you rather I shaved my legs and armpits or not? And what about getting any other bits trimmed or waxed?" He looked so uncomfortable that I relented.

"Seriously, tell me and I'll make sure I'm beautiful for you for ever."

"You could never be anything but beautiful to me." He looked down at me and I lost myself for a moment in the fathomless blue of his gaze. But only for a moment.

"Eric, please answer me. I want to get this right and I will only have one chance. In fact, I would remind you that we are in the bedroom right now so….as your mistress, I command you to tell me your preferences." He stared at me, and I held his gaze for a few seconds, and then grinned. He smiled back, reassured, and said,

"Very well, _mistress_. Truthfully, although I prefer your body and limbs to be smooth and silky, I find unshaven armpits very erotic. It's a European thing. It would please me greatly if you allowed that hair to grow just a little."

"You got it. Anything else?"

"No my sweet; you are just perfect as you are."

"Then let's do this thing."

"Very well. It is too near dawn now, but I will start making phone-calls first thing tomorrow night. We will invite every vampire in my area." He paused. "Except for Bill Compton, of course."

Okayyyy. Here we go. Somehow I knew this was going to be a sticking-point for Eric. "Why not Bill?" I was not really surprised; the antagonism between them had seethed under the surface for way too long, but I felt I was entitled to an explanation, rather than just being presented with his decision.

"As your former lover he is already more closely connected to you than I like. I can do nothing about this short of killing him, which by the way I would be more than happy to do, but I will not have him near you if I can avoid it." Eric's tone of voice was imperious.

"Don't you think that's a bit of an over-reaction?" I was still trying to be reasonable about this. I could see his viewpoint, but I wanted to know if he could see mine.

"Not at all. Once you become vampire, you will be a lot more sensitive to blood-exchanges, both past and present, and it is possible that your old attachment to him may re-awaken. Think of his response to Lorena, his maker, even after eighty years. You know such connections are always more powerful when _emotions_ are involved." He said the word with a slight distaste, as though referring to something faintly disgusting which would not normally be mentioned in polite society.

I tried again to bring some sense to the conversation.

"Eric, I haven't exchanged blood with Bill for well over a year. I've only seen him once since the fae war, and I felt no emotional attachment to him at all, even when he suggested…" Ah oh. As soon as I'd said the words I realised I'd made a mistake. Eric's head whipped round with the speed of a velociraptor scenting prey and his eyes zero-ed in on me in that completely unnerving way vampires have when you are the sole focus of their attention. He hadn't known that I'd been over to see Bill when he got silver-poisoning rescuing me from the fae torturers. He certainly wasn't aware that Bill had suggested we have sex in order to aid his recovery.

"Even when he suggested _what_?"

I tried to meet his gaze, but couldn't. I looked down and muttered, "nothing."

Silence. I didn't dare look up, but I felt his displeasure through the bond. Eventually he spoke, and there was stern master vampire in every measured word. This was the sheriff of Area Five speaking.

"No, Sookie. I am afraid this will not do. I do not lie to you and I do not expect you to lie to me. I am aware that you have been brought up in a tradition of freedom of speech and action, and for this reason I have allowed you a great many liberties that I would not tolerate from anyone else. If you wish you may refuse to answer my question, but you may _not_ insult me, and demean yourself, by lying. I will ask you again, and I suggest you think very carefully before you answer me. What did Bill Compton suggest when you visited him?" His slight accent was more marked, and his speech had become very precise. A definite danger signal, but I was too stubborn to pay heed.

"I'm not telling you. You have no right to pry into…." I stopped there. Even to myself I sounded like a petulant, whiny kid, but it was too late. I'd said the words and his eyebrows drew together; a sure mark of his displeasure.

"Then I will go to Compton's house and ask him." He got out of bed and began looking for his clothes. I gaped at him.

"But it's only a couple of hours 'till dawn."

"That will be sufficient time." He pulled on his T-shirt and jeans and did up the belt, then began hunting for his shoes.

"I'm sure he won't remember – it was ages ago."

"Then I will find a way to stimulate his memory."

"Eric, what are you going to do?" He glanced up at me as he put on his shoes. His eyes were as cold as the North Sea, and I could feel a chill overlaying the heat of the anger coming through the bond.

"If he will not tell me the truth I will torture him until he does." My eyes widened in horror.

"Eric, no! You can't do that!"

"Yes I can." He reached for his leather jacket and turned to the door. I was out of bed and standing in front of him with close to vampire speed.

"I won't let you!"

He cocked an eyebrow, looking down from his ten inches superiority in height. "How do you propose to stop me?" He had a point. Desperately I sought for something to say, anything that would slow down this train of events which my big mouth seemed to have set in motion. Maybe if I could get him to put his plans off until tomorrow night I could find a way to change his mind.

"You won't get him to tell you in just two hours. You know he lasted nearly a week when he was being tortured at Russell's!" Eric smiled, mirthlessly.

"They were amateurs. Had I been there, he would have broken in less than a day."

I backed away from him, putting my back against the door. He would have to go through me to get out. Not that I had any illusions about his ability to do so, but I was hoping our relationship might make him hesitate. Mind you, at the moment I wasn't any too sure about that. I cast around for something to say. I had to keep him talking. The longer he stayed here, the less likelihood there was of his reaching Bill tonight.

"Are you saying you've had a lot of experience torturing people?"

"Don't be naive, Sookie." His expression was one of exasperation. "I have lived for a millennium. Do you really think in all that time I have not learned everything there is to know about pain as well as pleasure? Have you ever seen the effect on a vampire of just a pinch of powdered silver in the right place? The tongue, for example, or the eyes?"

I shook my head mutely, wanting him to stop, but he ignored my reaction and continued. "Well, I have. It is not pretty. You've heard of the Spanish Inquisition? Who do you think trained their inquisitors? I, and others like me. Even the fairies who… worked on you, were children compared to me. I guarantee you that by dawn Compton will be grovelling at my feet, begging to be allowed to tell me everything, and believe me, he will wish he had more to tell me."

That was a train of thought I really didn't want to follow. I shuddered but tried to think of something else to distract him. "But you haven't got any powdered silver, right?" This sounded lame even to me, but I had to keep him here somehow.

"I can find everything I will need in his kitchen. Or his tool-shed." Eric's voice was grim. I began to sob, but my tears had no effect. He simply looked down at me, his face stony. I put my hands on his chest and pushed, but it was like trying to move a solid wall. I put my arms around him, trapping his and holding on for dear life, but he broke my grip with no effort at all, then simply lifted me out of his way. He wasn't unkind; he was simply unstoppable. "Please Eric, don't do this! I'm begging you." He paused, his hand on the doorknob.

"Either he tells me or you do. Would you rather be the one under my knife?" His face was implacable.

"No!" I gasped, as the cruelty of his words lit a fire of recollection in my brain. Less than a year ago, I had actually been under the knives of two torturers, who were very skilled, whatever he might say.

"Then it must be Bill." He opened the door.

"Alright, I'll tell you!" At that he turned.

"You will tell me everything? I will know if you are lying."

"Yes, but there's really not that much to tell. It's no big deal, really."

"Then why not tell me when I first asked?" I didn't really have an answer to that, so I didn't reply. He closed the door and leaned against the wall next to it, his arms folded across his chest, waiting. I was shivering.

"Won't you come back to bed?"

"No thank you." He was icily polite, but I knew through the bond that the fires were only banked down. It really wouldn't take much for them to blaze up again.

"Well, I'm going to get back in bed. I'm cold."

"That would be because you are naked." Well, thanks for the newsflash, Eric. I didn't say it out loud, but I knew he felt my sarcasm through the bond. An eyebrow drifted up half an inch, but there was no other reaction. I climbed back under the covers and pulled them up to my chin, mopping my eyes on the sheet. I felt marginally safer there, but I knew that was just an illusion. He waited silently.

"Won't you even come and sit down? I can't talk to you all the way over there." He hesitated and then took a seat in a wicker chair near the bed.

"Now tell me. What happened?"

"Well, Sam told me Bill was still ailing, so I just called in, neighbourly-like. Oh Eric, he looked awful. He's still real sick." Eric's expression said he _really_ didn't care.

"Did he touch you?"

"What? No, of course not."

"Did you touch him?" It cost Eric something to ask that question, I could tell.

"Well, I kissed him goodbye, but that was all. Just a peck on the cheek." He digested that for a minute.

"Go on."

"I only stayed about ten minutes, and by the time I left he was looking some better. He said it was my fae blood; just the proximity, the being close to me helped him. Then he…" I paused. Eric leaned forward in his chair.

"Then he…what?" I rushed at the last sentence, to get it over with.

"He said if we had sex it would really help his healing, but that was all, honestly, Eric. I said no, and he didn't push it. I just left. Nothing happened, I swear! I haven't even seen him since." I was babbling, I knew, dismayed at Eric's reaction. He was on his feet, his lips drawn back in a snarl so that I could see his fully extended fangs, his blue eyes fixed unblinkingly on mine. Eventually he spoke.

"Sookie, think very carefully. The answer to this question is extremely important. Was the… sex his suggestion or yours?"

"His, but I don't think he was serious…" I paused, shaken by the look on Eric's face.

"Then I am afraid the matter is out of my hands."

"What do you mean?"

"By making such a suggestion to someone who is pledged to another, Bill has broken one of the strongest taboos in vampire culture. Had it been before he found out about our pledging, he could have been excused, but he knew. I told him myself. He will have to face a tribunal."

"What? He didn't mean it, I'm sure, and I keep telling you _nothing happened_."

"Sookie, that doesn't matter." Eric sounded tired. "Do you remember I told you when we were pledged that no-one could touch you without my prior consent, on pain of final death? Well, what fate do you think is reserved for someone who doesn't just touch, but attempts to seduce his _sheriff's_ _wife_? He is lucky that you did not accept his offer. If you had, the blood code would have _required_ me to hunt him and you down and torture you both to death! You would have been a year dying."

A year! ... I fell back on my pillow, my hands clutching at my chest as though I was having a heart-attack. His words had punched a hole clean through a carefully constructed barrier in my mind, and conjured up a hideous vision of my time with Neave and Lochlan, the fae torturers. That had lasted only a couple of hours, but it had seemed so much longer. My heart was pounding, the scars from the worst day of my life burned, my breath came short and tears began to run down my face. I stared at Eric, and suddenly, to my horror, it was Lochlan standing there, looking at me. I gasped his name in terror and tried to scramble out of the bed but was tangled in the sheets. I was caught! He reached for me and I screamed again, "get away, get away! Eric! Eric! Help me!" Hands grasped at me and I screamed and thrashed about in blind panic. Through the bond I felt Eric leave the room and knew I had been abandoned. Just as on that awful day, I was alone, helpless, vulnerable, lost in my pain and fear. My vision faded as I slipped deeper into a nightmare of blood and screaming, and then blessed darkness took me.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I catapulted back into consciousness and sat bolt upright, gasping in terror, aware only of someone shaking me by the shoulders.

"Sookie! Sookie, wake up!" My vision was blurred with tears, and I couldn't see who had me, but I was choking, gasping for breath. My shoulders were released and something touched my mouth and I recoiled, but a hand on my back held me firmly in place. "Drink this." I shook my head, still completely disoriented but certain only that I wasn't going to drink voluntarily. The voice spoke again.

"My lover, it's only water. I promise. Please drink it." Eric. It was Eric. Eric the torturer; Eric the murderer; Eric the ruthless bastard; Eric the friend and protector and lover. Suddenly I didn't care what he was, I only cared where he was. Here with me. I clutched at him, shaking all over, and felt the glass tilt. The contents must have splashed all over Eric, as he muttered a brief Scandinavian profanity. Then the glass was removed and his arms were round me and he was holding me close, stroking me, petting me as though I was a frightened animal, murmuring sweet nonsense to me, rocking me until the trembling stopped and I was simply lying in his arms, quiescent, exhausted, barely able to open my eyes as he dried them gently with the sheet (again!). "Where were you?" I whispered. My throat hurt from screaming.

"Just getting you a glass of water from the kitchen," he said. "But for some reason you chose to throw it all down my shirt. You really do have a habit of ruining my clothes. They're soaking wet."

"Then you should take them off."

"You're right." He released me and there was a brief rustling of fabric, then the bed sagged again under his considerable weight and he was naked under the covers with me, holding me close again, my head resting on his shoulder.

"How do you feel now, my lover?" There was nothing but concern in his voice.

"A bit better."

"Can you tell me what happened? You cried out Lochlan's name and then seemed to go into a panicked state."

"I …I thought you were him. It was horrible. I was back there with them, and I needed you and you weren't there. I guess I must have had a flashback." I shivered, and held onto him as tightly as I could. This was one of the upsides of a vampire boyfriend; I could squeeze as hard as I liked and he would never complain that it was too tight or that he couldn't breathe. He hugged me gently in return, an expression of sorrow on his face. "I felt it through our bond, but I couldn't reach you. I tried, I called your name, but you didn't hear me, you tried to fight me off. I…felt so _helpless_ again." His voice was kind of suffocated, and I knew he was remembering his inability to come to me when I had needed him most. He was remembering the double anguish of feeling my pain and terror through our bond and his own physical agony as the silver chains that Victor had bound him with burned into his flesh.

"I deeply regret that words of mine triggered this episode."

"It wasn't just your words, Eric; it was your actions. The whole conversation, the fear of what you were going to do to Bill; it just all got a bit too much for me…" He looked down at me, with an understanding nod.

"PTSD." My face must have shown my complete lack of understanding, because he explained. "Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. It is quite common for humans who have been through a very bad time to have flashbacks occasionally. I saw a lot of it after the Franco-Prussian War, although of course it had not been defined then. It was just called shell-shock." A thoughtful look came over his face, as though he had just remembered something.

"Will it happen again?" I didn't like the thought of being disabled by something like this on a regular basis.

"I hope not. I have never met a vampire who suffered from it. Very little carries over from your human life to your vampire life. I think we can reasonably assume that once you are one of us it will no longer trouble you."

"Well, that's a big point in favour of coming over, I guess."

Eric glanced at the clock.

"Sweetheart, I know this may seem insensitive, but do you feel up to continuing our talk? I think it's important that we resolve this before I have to sleep. I do not want to leave you to brood on this all day without coming to some sort of understanding. Please."

Well, that was a first. Eric had said 'please' twice in one conversation. Either he was learning that this was what _I _wanted, or he was learning that this was how to get what _he_ wanted. Either way, it should be encouraged. Perhaps one day we could even work on other tricky concepts such as 'thankyou' and 'sorry', although I suspected they might require a lot more time.

I sighed. "Okay. If we must."

"Firstly, I may have found a solution to our problem."

"Which particular problem? The fact that Bill wanted to have sex with me, which you already knew, or the fact that you are a ruthless, bloodthirsty son-of-a-bitch who thinks torture is an acceptable negotiating tool?" I still had a little fight left in me.

It was his turn to sigh.

"Sookie, my personality is not a "problem" which has to be solved. This is who I am. The only reason I am here in this bed with you is because I _am_ a ruthless, bloodthirsty son-of-a-bitch. These are survival characteristics which have kept me alive for over a thousand years. You are going to have to come to terms with that if we are to be together."

"So you're not willing to change?"

"I have changed more than you know. I'm sure Pam has told you this."

"That's true," I said, thoughtfully. "She did say you were not the vampire she used to know. But she said it like it was a bad thing."

"She thinks it is. Do you remember that I spoke earlier of allowing you certain liberties? Well, liberty comes at a price, my dear. Some of my staff have observed your habit of questioning my orders, and they took my tolerance as a sign of weakness. They rather unwisely assumed that they could also question my commands. I am afraid that you have undermined my authority in some respects, Sookie, and I have had to … discipline… some of my underlings. This has led to the suggestion in some quarters that I am not fit to hold my position as Sheriff of Area Five."

"What?" I was horror-struck. "Eric, I'm so sorry…why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you are human, and therefore irrelevant. As far as the other vampires are concerned, the problem is not _your_ behaviour, but that of my subordinates', and the fact that I did not control them properly. Your bad manners are excused on the grounds that you probably don't know any better. It's nothing unusual; a lot of vampires spoil their pets…." I stiffened in outrage, but he shook me slightly and continued. "Grow up, Sookie. You know this is how vampires regard all humans, _including you_. They do not see you as special. To most of them, you are no different from any other human. Some see your abilities as useful, but they still don't regard you as a person." This was the first time Eric had laid it on the line quite so bluntly. It didn't make pleasant hearing. He continued. "I am supremely indifferent to the opinion of other vampires regarding my current relationship with you, but if you become vampire, it will be different. You will be under my authority not only as your maker but also as your sheriff. Tolerance of your disobedience then would be seen as a dangerous weakness in me, and would possibly even give Victor the excuse he is looking for to take over my area. This I will not permit. Is that clear?" He tilted my head up to make me meet his gaze. He was deadly serious.

"Yes, I think so."

"And do you feel you can adapt to this?"

"I'm not sure. Can I think about it?"

"Yes, but not for too long. If you feel you cannot show me proper deference, then we may have to postpone turning you until you can. Understand me, Sookie: I am willing to put up with the consequences of your continued defiance while you remain human, but once you are vampire I _will_ exact the respect due to me. Is that understood?" I could see how he had risen to his current position in the vampire hierarchy. Authority seemed to flow from him. I just had to take him seriously.

"Yes, I guess so. You've given me a lot to think about. I really didn't know…"

"Then we must put that aside for the moment. Bill is the more immediate problem." He released my chin and sat up in bed, his back against the headboard. I joined him, snuggling into the curve of his arm.

"Did you say you had an idea, a way round?" I hoped like hell he had thought of something. I clung to the knowledge that Eric was the most devious vampire I had ever met. His mind was so twisted he could think his way through a corkscrew.

"I may have found a way. The idea came to me after your unfortunate flashback and while we were discussing PTSD. It is very simple, really. I feel our best approach would be to excuse Bill's conduct on the grounds of his ill-health. The silver poisoning may well have affected his mind as well as his body."

"Do you think so? He seemed pretty clear-headed to…" my voice trailed away as he looked at me, a significant expression on his face. "Oh…yes, perhaps you're right," I was backtracking frantically. "Come to think of it, he did seem really down. He said he was taking no interest in his computer or anything, and that's not at all like him. Can vampires get clinically depressed?"

"I'm sure they can. Think of Clancy and how his character changed after he was nearly drained in the Witch War. After an illness such as Bill has suffered, we could hardly expect him to be completely rational."

"No, no, of course not. That must have been it. He was delirious. I'm sure he would never normally do anything like that."

"I sincerely hope not. I shall speak with him, and warn him of the …consequences of any repetition of his behaviour, but I see no immediate need to refer him to the tribunal."

I heaved a sigh of relief. But Eric wasn't finished yet. His voice was stern as he said, "I am willing to allow this for your sake, Sookie, but you really must learn to be more discreet. You must not be alone with him again. Promise me."

I was too glad to be free of the consequences of my behaviour to argue.

"I promise, Eric. But, can I ask a question?"

"Of course."

"Would you really have tortured Bill even though I begged you not to?"

"Why do you doubt it?" He was genuinely puzzled.

"I thought you loved me." I despised myself even as I said the words. I never thought I would become the kind of woman who resorted to emotional blackmail.

"I love you as much as I have ever loved anyone or anything."

"But not enough to do what I asked."

"Not enough to lie back and smile while you cut my balls off." The bluntness of his response caught me completely by surprise.

"What?"

"I said, 'not enough to…'" I interrupted him.

"I heard what you said, I just can't believe that you said it! I haven't cut your balls off!"

"Some of my staff thought you had." He smiled grimly. "They learned their mistake."

I didn't ask. I had discovered early on in my relationship with Eric that not asking was sometimes a very good idea. He didn't always answer, but if he did, he answered in detail. Some of his answers had been so detailed I had nearly thrown up. Of course, I should have stopped right there, but once again the Sookie mouth-juggernaut rolled on and left tact stranded by the roadside, trying to thumb a lift. My only excuse is that I was suffering from PTSD and feeling very emotionally vulnerable right then.

"So although you say you love me, you won't do what I ask?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Is that your definition of love? Doing what the beloved asks, unquestioningly? In spite of what I said earlier Sookie, I am not a slave, and I would advise you not to try and treat me like one. You might also like to consider your own conduct by the light of this definition. You say you love me, and yet if you look back over the last year, can you honestly say you have not taken nearly every opportunity you could to defy me?"

I tried to defend myself, although I had a feeling I was on a hiding to nothing. "Oh no, not when it really mattered…"

"Oh yes." He was implacable. "Think of when Ocella visited us. I was desperate to have you treat my maker with respect, and you knew it, yet your conduct towards him bordered on the insolent. You made a difficult situation even harder for me. I love you, Sookie, but I will not permit you to control me, _or_ emotionally blackmail me. That was not worthy of you, my lover." He looked at me significantly. He had known exactly what I was doing. I hung my head, ashamed. "I'm sorry, Eric. I won't do it again. I'm just a bit shaken up at the moment. I needed reassurance, I guess."

"Now, that I can provide." His voice changed, became like honey, and he drew me back down into the bed and rolled on top of me. "I am going to _reassure_ you, my lover, until you scream for mercy." His eyes glowed, his hands began to move, and his mouth sought mine. I sighed and relaxed against him as he began to reassure my whole body as only he knew how.

Forty-five minutes later, I had been reassured very thoroughly and very noisily, several times over, and I was lying on top of him, recovering my breath as I gazed into his eyes. I loved the way they changed colour with his mood. Sometimes they were like chips of blue ice, sometimes the unfathomable blue of the Caribbean. They could spark blue fire or glow with lust, but at the moment they were a tranquil wedgewood blue, like a Siamese cat, and they were dreamy with the aftermath of truly great sex. He was entirely at ease, but I couldn't relax completely. I was too worried about what he had said regarding his position in the vampire hierarchy. It was up to me to do something about that, as it was largely my fault. It had been hard to listen to, but he was quite right; at times I had taken a positive delight in defying him. This was not good; In fact, my Gran would have been horrified at my lack of manners. I had almost enjoyed being rude to Eric, although I had called it asserting my independence, and even though he truly pissed me off at times, that was no excuse for being less than ladylike. Okay, Sookie, maybe he was right; Maybe it was time to grow up some.

"Eric?"

"Yes, my lover?" His finger-tips walked idly up and down my spine, sending little shivers through me. I tried to focus, but he was making it _real_ hard.

"I've thought about what you said, about undermining your authority and all, and I want to say I'm sorry. I didn't know I was damaging your prestige, but I did know I was being bad-mannered and ungracious and I shouldn't have let my temper get the better of me on so many occasions."

"No, you shouldn't." Well, that was blunt. I felt a tiny touch of annoyance, but then thought, "no, suck it up, girl. He's right, you have to start being mature about this relationship. You can't criticise someone for being honest." If I was honest with myself, I hadn't always handled my relationships with Bill and Quinn that well, but I had the excuse that Bill was my first and I was still recovering from his betrayal when I met Quinn. However, that no longer applied. Eric and I had been together for some time now, and I was well over Bill _ and_ Quinn. It was time to move it up a level. I suppressed the spurt of anger, took a deep breath and sat up.

"Eric, stand up a minute."

"Why? I'm comfortable as I am." He had been watching my face, but I don't know how well he had been able to follow my train of thought from my expressions. This is something vampires are normally very good at, but I think he may have gotten a little lost on this one.

"Please. It's important to me."

I moved off him and he sighed and swung his long legs over the side of the bed and came to his feet grumbling slightly. Glancing at the clock, he said, "Sookie, will this take long? It will be dawn in less than an hour."

"No, it won't take long. Just stand there a moment." I got out of bed too and stood in front of him. "Now, give me your hands." He did so, with a puzzled frown, and I took them in mine.

"Eric, I may not always have been as mature as you would have liked, but what happened tonight has made me see things differently. I don't know, maybe I've grown up a bit. But I want to do something to show you how sorry I am for the trouble I've caused you. You said earlier that we might need to postpone turning me if I couldn't guarantee to show you proper respect. Well, I've thought about it, and I've decided we won't need to postpone a thing." Then I did something I thought I would never, ever, do. I knelt in front of him and bowed my head. I kissed his hands, and raised them to my forehead, trying to remember the words I had heard in Rhodes when Henrik had offered fealty to Sophie-Ann, the late Queen of Louisiana. "I, Sookie Stackhouse, hereby offer you, Eric Hrothgar Hjarvaldssen Northman (I stumbled slightly over the unfamiliar syllables) my fealty, my life-long oath of obedience and loyalty, unto final death." I kissed his hands again and released them before leaning forward and softly kissing his bare feet. I felt his cool flesh under my lips, then I knelt back on my heels and looked up. A quotation from eleventh grade English Poetry class flashed across my mind. "Thou art noble and nude and antique." I couldn't remember the poet but I couldn't think of a better description for the being standing looking down at me with glowing sapphire eyes. He was like an ancient Greek statue in his marble-white magnificence. Before I could do anything, he had lifted me to my feet and was gazing intently into my eyes, his hands on my shoulders.

"Do you know what you have just done?" His voice was deep and gentle.

"Yes. I've grown up, Eric. And I've given you what you deserve. My respect." His gaze softened and he held me close to him.

"My dearest one. This is how it should be between us."

"I hope it always will be from now on." Then I told him about the quotation I had remembered. He nodded his head. _"We shift and bedeck and bedrape us, thou art noble and nude and antique_. Swinburn." How the hell did he know that? "I am familiar with the words, but I had never thought to apply them to myself. Nude and antique are undeniably true, but noble? I'm not so sure."

"I think you are. You've sacrificed yourself over and over again for me. You've put up with my discourtesy and never even told me the trouble I caused you. I've lost count of the number of times you've been shot protecting me. You've put yourself in danger for me so many times; Even when you'd been chained with silver for my sake, you dragged yourself out to defend me, and you gave me your blood when you needed it for your own healing. I won't forget that. You've put up with a lot from me, and you deserve my respect."

"Even though I am a ruthless, bloodthirsty son-of-a-bitch?" His eyebrow was up again. Damn, I loved it when he did that.

"A ruthless, bloodthirsty, _noble_ son-of –a-bitch."

"What about my arrogance and my high-handedness?"

"OK, so you've got the habit of command. That's not necessarily a bad thing."

"The habit of command. A good expression." He smiled slowly. "And now, my first command to you, as my newest underling, is that you come back to bed."

I smiled back at him and put my right fist to my left shoulder. "Yes master," I said, happily. And I obeyed him.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was nearly a month later, and I stood in the function room at Fangtasia, mentally running through my checklist. Yup, all the arrangements were complete. Invitations to my rising had been sent and accepted; The king was coming for the occasion, and had offered to conduct a formal hierarchical marriage ceremony, which would legalise the pledging of a year ago under the laws of Louisiana. Eric and I had nearly had a row about this, as at first I didn't want to get married, but he made me see that I was really being inconsistent. Hadn't I already given him my love, my trust and my body? By becoming a vampire I was committing to him irrevocably (another good calendar word) anyway, so what more was left? He assured me that it was a great honour, as it was the first wedding the new king had officiated at, and would add an enormous extra cachet to the whole occasion. Conversely, it would be an unnecessary insult if we refused the king's offer.

So, there was nothing left to do. I'd given up my job at Merlotte's but kept my old family house. Amelia was glad to rent it from me, as she found a bolt-hole away from her father and New Orleans really useful sometimes. I was quite happy for her to have the house, as I knew she loved it and wouldn't change it very much. My old room was always to be kept ready for me in case of need (not that I could imagine a situation when I would need it, but experience had taught me not to be too sure of anything in the future). I had finally plucked up the courage to tell the few people who cared about me what I was going to do.

My brother Jason was not best pleased, but he accepted that I had a right to my own life (or death, ha ha) and he was more or less wrapped up in his new life with the were-panthers out at Hot Shot. He decided not to attend, as vampires kind of creeped him out. I wasn't really sorry, as Jason was as dumb as a stump, and couldn't be relied on not to do something stupid, like starting a war.

Sam wouldn't come either, although he had finally come round to the idea of my being with Eric, and he knew deep down that Eric was better equipped to protect me than anyone else. My safety and happiness was real important to Sam. He had been such a good friend for as long as I could remember, but he had always wanted to be something more. I couldn't really ask him to witness my happiness with someone else; it would be kind of like rubbing his nose in it.

Tara was sweet, but her new family was the most important thing in her life right now, and I could tell I wasn't very high on her list of things to interfere with. She hated vamps generally (some bad experiences in the past) but was okay with Eric, as he'd helped get her out of a very nasty situation recently. He'd taken the opportunity to give her a piece of his mind, but she had the sense to see that he cared about me even more than she did, and she'd forgiven him (and me) to the extent of giving me the run of her boutique when I wanted to pick my wedding clothes. I had found an absolute beauty of a dress, and she had had the alterations done for free (it needed letting out some in the bosom, as my natural bounty tended to overflow a little) and she had given me all the accessories as a gift, plus some very interesting lingerie for my trousseau. Mind you, she didn't lose out; Eric had insisted I spend a huge amount of money on the dress, which was kind of fun. It was in cream wild silk, low-cut and very fitted, with loads of petticoats underneath. It was embroidered with crystal beads all over the bodice and with lace panels set into the skirt which had just a small sweep of train – nothing too ostentatious, real classy.

Nope, there really was nothing left to do.

We had settled on Eric's home for the first part of the ceremony, and Fangtasia for the public second part. I wasn't wild about this, but it was the largest suitable venue in the area and so I had agreed. Eric had had it re-decorated and had brought in a lot of guest coffins for the VIVs (Very Important Vampires) and it was closed to the public for the next night.

The function room had been set out with a raised dais at both ends; On one was a huge golden Ankh symbol ready for the wedding. In front of that on a raised step was Eric's throne, which would be used for the occasion by King Felipe, and on the dais at the other end of the room trestles had been set up, draped in black velvet and surrounded by candles. I knew this was where my coffin would be placed after the draining (how I hated that word), to await my rising. It was all very dramatic and exactly like an old Hammer Horror movie set, but I wasn't going to say that to Eric. He loved it.

I shivered, as it was quite chilly in there. Vampires didn't really feel the cold, so there was no heating. Then suddenly I felt a surge of warmth and happiness. I knew the reason why and an unstoppable grin spread across my face; Eric was coming. Although I hadn't heard anything I knew he was in the building. The feeling grew stronger, then he filled the doorway and I felt a different kind of warmth in a different area of my body. God, he was gorgeous! He had on jeans, a tight black T-shirt which showed his fabulous muscles, and his leather jacket with the collar turned up. Mmmm. He looked like a real bad boy biker. Rebel Without a Pulse. Yum. This was the first time I had seen him in seven days. It was traditional at vampire weddings that the couple did not share a bed for at least a week before the ceremony, and we both knew there was no way we could keep our hands off each other if we were in the same building, let alone the same room. So I had stayed at Bon Temps overnight, only visiting Fangtasia during the day if I needed to do anything, and he of course had only been there after dark. We had talked on the phone, but that was really no substitute This had come hard on both of us, although in one way I had found it useful. But that was for later.

"Eric!"

He held out his arms to me, smiling, and I ran to him and was folded in his embrace. His lips met mine (this was permitted), and his fangs ran out as we kissed over and over and over. Had he always tasted this good? I couldn't remember. Suddenly I felt his need pressing against me, and his hand began to drift towards my breasts and I knew we had to break it off or we'd be at it on the floor of the function room. With an almighty effort I pushed his hand down and broke away, panting, and he generously allowed me to do so. There was no way I could have freed myself from his grip had he chosen to maintain it.

He grinned. "Miss me?"

"What do you think?"

"I'm not sure, I'll have to check the bond." Then he stopped smiling. "Seriously, lover, this last week has been torture for me. I have never missed anyone so much in my entire life."

Considering his life was a thousand years long, that was quite a statement.

"Me too. But not much longer to wait now."

"I know." He grinned again. "That's why I'm here. It's nearly time, my love."

"Already?" I looked at my watch. He was right. I had been working so hard I had not noticed. It was ten o'clock. The whole thing was traditionally supposed to be done at midnight, and we had to leave to go to his house, a few miles away in Shreveport.

"What do you mean, already? These last few days have been an eternity. My staff have been avoiding me all week." I could understand that; Normal Eric was scary enough; frustrated Eric must have been absolutely terrifying. I had heard from Pam that she had refused to allow him to sit out in the bar after he had hospitalized a too-persistent fangbanger. Mind you, if I'd been there, I'd probably have hospitalized her myself.

Eric offered me his arm. "Shall we be going, lover?"

I smiled at him, placed my arm in his and we went out through the staff entrance, to where his gleaming Corvette awaited us. He held the door open for me, and courteously reached across to fasten my seatbelt, planting a kiss on my lips as he withdrew. Then he folded himself into the driver's seat and we passed out of the parking-lot and onto the main highway. He drove fast, and I just prayed we didn't have an accident on the night _before_ I became immortal. That would have been too ironic.

His home was in a gated community and as we turned in he paused briefly to allow the security guards to identify him. As we pulled up in front of his house, I looked back and saw a gleaming black hearse arriving at the gates behind us. I gasped as the significance of it came home to me. Eric glanced at me and followed my gaze. "Don't disturb yourself, " he murmured. "That is for when I carry you to Fangtasia later this evening."

"In a hearse?" Somehow I hadn't quite expected that.

"Did you think I was going to stuff you in the trunk of my car?" He grinned. "No, you will travel in style."

By now we were out of his car and entering his house through the garage door into the laundry room and then the kitchen. We passed straight through and into the dining-room, where a meal was already set out, candlelight gleaming on polished gold cutlery and white table-linen.

"This is your last supper, if you like, my darling," he said. "I tried to choose your favourite foods." He had indeed, and there was a distinctly incongruous look to the elegance of the polished wood and sparkling crystal and the can of Dr Pepper sitting in the ice-bucket. "No expense spared," he said ironically.

"Well, I never said I had sophisticated tastes."

He pulled out the chair and held it for me, tucking it in smoothly as I sat, and then spreading a snowy napkin on my lap.

For the next twenty-five minutes I ate my way steadily through crawfish etouffé and some of the best jambalaya I had ever eaten, and for dessert there was a chocolate soufflé as light and fluffy as a cloud. Eric had ordered it all in from the best restaurant in Shreveport. I hadn't known they delivered, and when I mentioned this, he just grinned and said, "they don't, usually." OK. He didn't have to draw me a picture. Eric refused to sit down, saying he would wait on me for the evening, and he did so perfectly.

It was one of the most memorable meals of my life; there were rare orchids on the table, the air was scented, and music was playing softly on the stereo. I giggled when I recognised what Eric had selected – Music of the Night from Phantom of the Opera, but the more I listened, the more appropriate the words became… _"turn your thoughts away from the garish light of day…surrender to your darkest dreams… purge your thoughts of the life you knew before… you'll live as you've never lived before."_ It really should be the vampire national anthem. Eric hummed along softly to the music. I had never heard a vampire do this before, but it was a strangely pleasant, comforting sound. Almost human.

After I had finished, Eric took my hand and led me to his own bathroom, where my dress had been hanging since that afternoon. There he left me to get ready while he cleared away after my meal. I had found this quite amusing, as of course the most dishwashing that vampires ever have to do usually is rinse out a bottle or two. I pictured him in the kitchen, puzzled and frustrated by such complex items as washing-up soap and sponges. Then I got down to business. I cleaned my teeth while the tub filled, then washed my hair and scrubbed myself all over before drying off with a fluffy white towel. I had had a full facial, manicure and pedicure earlier in the day and my body was as trim and taut as it had ever been (I'd been very diligent over trips to the gym recently – I'd missed my "extra" workouts for the last week, if you know what I mean). I wrapped myself in a beautiful peach-coloured silk bathrobe Eric had given me and dried and brushed my hair before doing my make-up. I could still hear the music – it was piped all over the house. Then I climbed into the petticoats, slid the dress over the top, did up the zipper and settled it into place. I had dainty cream silk pumps, again embroidered with crystals, and silk stockings – my first ever pair. I had decided to wear my hair long and loose, with the ends just curled a little, and one camellia over my left temple.

When I finally looked in the mirror, I was satisfied with the picture I presented. My waist looked tiny, my boobs didn't look indecent and the dress fitted perfectly. I actually looked quite bridal, and I guess this was the nearest I was ever going to get. I had always expected my wedding to involve bridesmaids giggling and making suggestive jokes, but come to think of it, I didn't have that many girlfriends who I would have liked to invite to be my bridesmaids. I felt closest to Amelia, and she was going to be there at Fangtasia later, but somehow the whole bridal shower and rice thing just didn't feel right any more. This was better; just me and the man I loved.

One last look in the mirror and I took a deep breath before stepping from the bathroom into what had been his, but was now our, bedroom. I knew it well from past visits, but he had had it re-decorated for me, in shades of pink and grey. There were no windows (the room had to be light-proof), and there was an Emperor-sized four-poster bed, canopied with grey silk. The pink carpet was soft and thick and covered the whole of the split-level floor. The raised section contained the only two incongruous items in the room; a microwave on a stand, for True Blood, and a coffin. I was used to seeing his coffin there, a luxurious affair in black lacquer, but now it had been replaced with an enamelled grey double-wide, lined with cream silk.

When I entered, Eric rose from the chair where he had been waiting for me. He had changed from his jeans and T-shirt, and was now wearing perfectly tailored formal evening-dress, with a hand-tied white bow tie. His blond hair was drawn back in an elegant pony-tail and he looked simply edible. He must have thought I looked pretty okay too; his eyes glowed as he looked at me, and I pirouetted in front of him so that he could get the full effect of the dress. "How do I look?" I asked.

"Like a million dollars," he breathed. Sometimes his idioms are quite current, other times he's a little out-of touch (he recently described a band he had heard as "really hip").

"Well, it didn't cost quite a million, but you're not far off," I joked, and he smiled. "It was worth every cent," he said, and stepped forward to take my hand.

"I'm just a bit worried that…well… that it's about to get blood on it," I said.

"Don't worry, my lover. I would not let a single drop of your precious blood spill," he said, and led me to stand by the bed. I shuddered slightly as I looked at it and he pressed my hand "Sookie, are you quite sure you want to do this?"

"Yes, Eric. I love you too much to lose you."

"Then don't be afraid, sweetheart; Everything will be fine, I promise. When you have fallen asleep, I will lay you to rest in the coffin and have you carried carefully to Fangtasia. Once there I will join you, and we will never be separated again."

We stood facing each other, and I glanced at the clock over by the bed, which showed 11.48. He put his hands on my shoulders.

"Now?" he whispered, and I gulped and nodded my head.

"Now."

He lifted me effortlessly and laid me carefully in the centre of the bed, before lying next to me, gazing into my eyes with such a tender look my heart melted. He folded me close in his arms and bent his golden head to kiss me tenderly, before his mouth drifted to the sensitive, vulnerable spot where the neck joins the shoulder, and the lifeblood pulses close to the surface. The music flowed round us_… "let your soul take you where you long to be…only then can you belong to me…"_

As his fangs touched my flesh I clutched his broad shoulders, closing my eyes as I murmured his name. "This will not hurt, my lover; trust me," he whispered and then he bit. I gasped and felt his mouth over the tiny wounds. Normally he only fed from me during sex or when he needed blood urgently in an emergency situation (there had been far too many of those since I had known him!), so this was kind of different. He was right; it didn't exactly hurt, it was a kind of dizzy feeling, and as he began to drink I felt myself becoming weaker and weaker and lighter and lighter, spiralling upwards (or was it downwards?) and then I was lost in light.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I opened my eyes and there was a pale blur immediately in front of me. I blinked and focussed and it resolved itself into pleated cream silk, a few inches from my face. Memory returned, and I knew where I was. I was lying in the big double coffin, presumably at Fangtasia. Even though it should have been dark in there, I found I could see quite well; the turning must have worked. I cautiously reached out a hand but there was no-one next to me, so Eric had already risen. I reached out through the blood bond and felt him nearby. The feeling of his presence was familiar and dear to me, but it was stronger and more complex than I had ever known it before; I guess the result of our latest, deepest blood-exchange. My love was waiting for me. He was clearly keeping a rigorous control on himself, but through the bond I felt waves of impatience and longing, a thin but definite thread of anxiety, and there was a deep unchanging background of love and desire. I smiled with happiness. Then the pattern changed and I caught awareness and a sudden surge of joy and relief and anticipation – he knew I was awake.

I could not keep him waiting any longer, and with my left hand I pushed gently at the surface above me. It hinged back and I heard his voice say, "she rises!" There was a murmur of other voices, and there was a swift movement nearby and Eric was at the side of the coffin, smiling down at me. He looked stunningly handsome, as he helped me to sit up. He had added a scarlet sash to his ensemble, worn diagonally across his snow-white shirt front, with a glittering order or decoration of some sort pinned to it, and he looked every inch a sheriff. I blinked a little in the soft candlelight as he bent and placed an arm behind my shoulders and one under my knees, lifting me bodily from my resting-place. He set me carefully on my feet and then he took me by the hand and led me to the front of the dais where I looked out at our assembled guests, smiling a little shakily.

"Behold, our new sister!" He said in a ringing voice, and the entire assembly said, "welcome! Welcome Sookie!" So it was done; I was a vampire. I felt very different; the overhead lights were now switched on and they seemed to shine more brightly; the scents on the air were more complex; every sound was crisper. I felt stronger, more alert, more conscious, more…just _more._ This must be what vampires felt like all the time.

Wow.

Eric turned to me, smiling, showing a hint of fang, and murmured, "welcome, my lover."

I smiled at him and then cautiously touched my lips with my fingers. My mouth felt different. He bent and took a hand-mirror from a small table, and passed it to me with a bow. I opened my mouth and… there they were – two perfect white fangs, glinting in the candlelight on either side of my incisors. I had noticed that vampires' fangs varied considerably, and mine appeared to be slender and very white and needle-sharp. I was fascinated by my new appearance, and turned my head, inspecting them. Then I turned to Eric and said my first words.

"What do you think?"

"I had not thought it possible, but you are even more beautiful than before." He took the mirror from me, folded me in his arms and kissed me long and passionately. Oh Yum. It took a minute to adjust to the new sensation of kissing him now that I had fangs as well, but as I felt his tongue caress them it sent shivers of pleasure up my spine. I was immediately aware that his mouth was no longer as cool on mine as it used to feel, as our body temperatures now matched. However, my sexual temperature was definitely starting to rise. I could feel my engines revving up, and the audience murmured their approval as he bent me backwards as though we were dancing and my arms went round his neck. I became immediately aware that he no longer felt so cool. I could have remained there for ever, lost in his embrace, had the king not called out from his throne at the far end of the room, "Sheriff, you are being cruel in your love. You know she cannot feed until after the ceremony. Bring her to me and then let the poor child have something to eat – she must be starving." I had not been aware of it until now, but Felipe was right; I was ravenous, but not for food.

Immediately, Eric released me. "Forgive my selfishness, my lover," he said. "My own hunger was so great, I forgot yours. Come." The guests moved aside and he took my hand, helped me down from the dais and led me through the lane they had left to where the king waited.

As I passed through the rows, I saw many smiling faces that I recognised and an awful lot more that I didn't; Eric's friends and associates from Shreveport and elsewhere; The only vampire of my acquaintance who was not there was Bill. On Eric's advice, he had decided to travel to Europe for a couple of months. I knew Eric had had a talk with him about his little indiscretion, and I was pretty certain that the trip was one of Eric's conditions for letting Bill off the hook. Again, I wasn't going to ask.

Jason. Alcide and Sam had excused themselves, but Amelia was in the front row, looking perfectly relaxed in a room in which she was the sole human. As a witch, she had ways of protecting herself, but tonight I was sure she would not need to; there would be plenty to eat for vamps, humans and Weres alike. I spotted a lot of Were friends, my best vampire friend Pam, plus Gerald, Maxwell, Thalia and Irina from Fangtasia, Stan, the sheriff of Dallas and his entourage, Rasul from New Orleans and best of all Bubba, who was looking particularly well-turned-out in a white jumpsuit with rhinestones. He smiled and waved and I smiled back and then we mounted the dais, where we halted before the king's throne.

Eric bowed and stepped back a pace and I curtseyed (I had had to practise that!) before kneeling on the step which lifted the throne above the dais. I had been well briefed on the protocol, so I knew what to do. Felipe leaned forward and extended his hand to me. Following pretty much what I had done for Eric back in my bedroom, I placed the back of my hand beneath his and lifted it to my lips and then touched it to my forehead. Holding it there I said loudly and clearly, "I, Sookie Stackhouse, here acknowledge you as my king and do solemnly swear loyalty and obedience unto final death." Then I kissed his hand once more, released it and bowed my head. I didn't kiss his feet – that had been a one-time-only deal for Eric. The king paused a moment and then said, "I accept your pledge and accept you as my subject. Know that I will repay loyalty with favour, obedience with good and fair governance and oath-breaking with vengeance." There was a pleased murmur from the assembled crowd and Felipe leaned down to assist me to my feet. Eric stepped forward as I rose and Felipe gave my hand to him, saying, "and now, let us provide the lovely lady with some breakfast. It would never do to have her fainting during the wedding."

Eric clapped his hands, a door opened, and six humans came in. Each was wearing only a brief pair of shorts. They filed into the room and came and knelt in a line, heads down, before the dais where Eric and I stood. There were two blonds, two brunets and two redheads – one of each sex. Eric had explained to me that all humans tasted different, as all wines tasted different, but they could be roughly categorised. Brunets tasted richer, blonds had a lighter flavour and redheads were slightly tangy and he had told me that I should sample them all before deciding on my personal favourites. At the time I had found his attitude somewhat clinical but now all I could think of was the rich blood pulsing through their veins.

These were all fangbangers – people who had sought the honour of being bitten by a vampire. It was seen as a mark of distinction to be able to display bite-marks; it showed that a vampire had found you of interest, which is all that seemed to matter to fangbangers. Every vampire in the room was now showing fang; the six were all young and attractive; Eric had clearly been to a lot of trouble to select the very best available. He snapped his fingers and at the signal they each inclined their heads to the right, exposing their jugular veins to me. "Take your pick, my darling; they are all fresh." He was right. There were no marks on any of their necks, so they had been selected specially for me. "If you wish, you can pick and mix – try some of each."

I moved to the end of the line, where a dark-haired boy knelt, not more than twenty-one (the minimum legal age). At a sign from Eric he stood, which brought his neck to just below my chin– perfect. I began to realise the care Eric had taken. Each of these humans had been chosen to be just the right height for me. I thanked my love with my eyes, before leaning forward to inhale the scent of the tanned skin before me. I could practically hear the blood pulsing through the veins and I licked gently at the spot where the neck and the shoulder joined. The boy shuddered, but remained still. I could tell he had been glamoured. I placed my fangs at the spot where I felt the blood running nearest to the surface, and then very gently applied pressure. As my teeth penetrated, a scent filled the air, sweet and wonderful and intoxicating, and I realised what human blood smelt like to a vampire. It was indescribably lovely and I inhaled deeply, holding it in my lungs before exhaling. I could resist it no longer, and I finally put my mouth to the two tiny wounds and sucked, tentatively at first, and then deeper and deeper, lapping at the blood as it spilled forth, drinking greedily in ever bigger gulps, feeling the rich warmth fill me, satisfy me, spread through my whole being until I wanted to drown in it, bathe in it. I was drunk on the smell and the taste and the richness of it. Eventually I felt hands on my shoulders and Eric moved me away, saying, "there are other delights here for you. Try a blonde." The blonde girl, small and slender and pretty, was kneeling there, and she rose to her feet at Eric's signal. This time I had no hesitation and went straight in for the neck. Eric was right – it was completely different – lighter, slightly fizzy almost, with a wonderful bouquet. As I drank I was vaguely aware of the dark youth being led to the king. Presumably he was going to sample him. Then I moved to one of the redheads and this one was smoky and smooth in texture, with a hint of cinnamon. Each human was taken away as I finished and presented to one or other of the guests of honour.

As I reached the last in the line-up before the dais – the dark female - I was aware that Eric had moved to stand behind her. We smiled at each other and bent our heads simultaneously, drinking together from opposite sides of the human's neck. She swayed between us as we drank and then I heard the king's voice saying, "if the bride and groom have satisfied their first hunger, shall we proceed to the wedding?" Eric and I raised our heads and looked at each other. There was blood on his lips and dripping from his fangs, as I am sure there was from mine. He had never looked less human or more gorgeous. He produced a snow-white handkerchief and gently wiped my mouth, and I did the same for him. Then he joined me in front of the king.

Pam stepped forward with long ceremonial coat-like robes for each of us – Eric's in deepest blue with silver embroidery and mine silver with blue embroidery. One of Felipe's entourage had brought the ceremonial knife (I remembered that only too well! The last time I had seen it, Eric had used it to trick me into becoming pledged to him without my knowledge) and a gold cup and laid them out on a small table while I had been feeding. We knelt together, and the wedding ceremony began. It took only minutes, so I barely had time to take it in – there was no giving of rings, but there was the giving of blood after we had both given assent to the vows. We signed the necessary documents (in ink, not blood), and then the king made a small incision in each of our wrists with the knife and the resultant blood was caught in the gold cup, which we then both drank from. I had had Eric's blood before of course (most recently last night), but it now tasted so much richer and sweeter. From the look on his face, he seemed to think the same of mine. He took my hand and the king pronounced us legally married. We stood up, then Eric took my face gently in his hands and tilted it to the perfect angle, before kissing me lightly. I kissed him back in the same way; our time would come shortly.

Then he stepped back and beckoned Pam forward. She stepped up to the dais, holding a flat velvet box in front of her, and extended it to Eric. She bowed her head, and he opened the box and took something from it. There was an "oooh!" from the assembled guests as for a moment it looked as though his hand was dripping blood, but he turned to me and there dangling from his extended fingers was the most magnificent gold and ruby necklace I had ever seen or imagined. The stones were the size of pigeon's eggs, and they flashed with a living fire. "My wedding gift to you, my lover," he said, and stepped behind me to fasten it round my neck. He still had the mirror in his pocket, and he gave it to me so I could see his gift. It glowed against the curve of my breasts. There was more applause and then a bell rang and lines of scantily-clad humans entered the room and mingled with the guests. The buffet was open. Eric had spared no expense – each human wore a tag with their blood-type written clearly on it and every one was a rare vintage (Eric had explained that certain blood-types were more desirable than others). They had been glamoured into total acquiescence - they were all volunteers, of course, but even so it was possible that this many vampires assembled together would freak out even an experienced fangbanger and these were all newbies – they had never been bitten before. Someone had done an excellent job of glamouring them, as there was not a single embarrassing incident. There was a blood fountain with True Blood for the mainstreamers – those who had sworn off real human blood – but even here only the best was on offer – it flowed with Royalty Blended. The folding doors were pushed back and the human and Were buffet tables were revealed.

Eric and I stepped from the dais and began to move among our friends and well-wishers receiving their congratulations, beginning with Pam. She hugged me and greeted me as her new sister, which I was in the vampire sense – Eric was her maker as well, which made me her sister (_and _ her step-mother, but that was too weird, so we stuck with sisters) -before moving aside for others. As I looked past the assembled guests I noticed that the coffin had been discreetly removed to be taken back to Eric's house – _our _ house - and a band was now filing onto the platform. Again, they were top quality; Renfield's Masters – a noted vampire band. I hated to think what all this must have cost Eric, besides the extra expense of hosting royalty and all the visiting sheriffs from neighbouring areas. Then my new husband led me onto the floor to take up our positions for the first dance of the evening.

Now, I can't sing, but I can dance. Eric too was extremely graceful and a very strong leader, so I knew I would have no difficulty partnering him in spite of the ten inches difference in height. He took my right hand in a light clasp and circled my waist with his left arm, and the music began. The intro was one I knew, and as I glanced across to the stage I gasped at the familiar figure standing in front of the band, microphone in hand. It was Bubba. He sang so rarely now that the majority of people in the room had never heard him live, though of course everyone had heard his records. He began to sing, and I raised my head and met Eric's bluer-than-blue eyes, which were smiling down at me. He drew me closer and we began to dance to the sound of the most famous voice on the planet. "Love me tender, love me true…" We circled the dance-floor, and then others began to join us. Eric's strong arms held me tight and then there was a gasp and applause from the guests as he rose slowly in the air, rotating gently as he did so, carrying me with him, his lips on mine, and I knew I was in heaven. We were together in a universe of our own, until the music finished and Bubba stepped down from the stage amid rapturous applause. "Thank you… thank you very much," and then we came back to earth again, my head on Eric's broad chest, his cheek resting on my hair. His hand had moved from my waist to my back and he held me close against his silent heart. I felt as though I had been waiting for this my whole life.

As we moved off the dance-floor, Eric's eyes were glowing. He looked down at me, and leaned in close and whispered, "I can't wait to carry you off, my bride," and his tongue snaked briefly into my ear. I felt a sudden surge of lust and my fangs emerged involuntarily. I knew that because of our blood-bond he had felt it too. His expression changed, his own fangs extended, and I think it was only Pam's timely interruption at that moment that prevented my jumping him right there and the pair of us providing the guests with some quite unexpected entertainment. However, she tapped me on the shoulder and said, "it's time to change, Sookie." Eric reluctantly released my hand and I went with Pam through to the office, which we had commandeered for the night. Eric had been forbidden to enter, and the room had been transformed into a dressing-room for all the female visitors. I suspected it would take him weeks to get the smell of perfume and beauty products out of the carpet.

Pam helped me out of my silver wedding robe and the cream silk creation and carefully hung them up, stroking them as she did so. Although she's a pastels and penny loafers girl herself she is, like all vampires, very tactile, which explains their fondness for rich fabrics like silk and velvet. Is there anything more sensuous in the world than velvet? That is why I had chosen it for my going-away outfit – a long, svelte, figure-hugging gown in wine-red, cut _very_ low across the bosom, red velvet gloves and heels to match, and a long matching velvet cloak over the whole thing (think Julia Roberts at the opera in Pretty Woman). Yes, I know, really cheesy, but Eric liked that sort of thing. You had to remember that he was very old, and although he did a really good job of keeping up with the times there were still things that he hankered after, like traditional ladies' undergarments. That's why I hoped he might get a kick out of what I now put on underneath my gown.

I squeezed (that really is the only word to describe it) into the dress and had a look in the mirror we had brought in. It looked as though it had been sprayed on and the necklace looked fabulous. I was really, _really_ glad that his gift to me was rubies. My gift to him was waiting at the house – I hoped. I had arranged it all with Pam and the man from Extreme(ly Elegant) Entertainments. She had given him the key and they had instructions to be in and out while we were all at Fangtasia. They had to work to a very tight schedule, but they were accustomed to satisfying very demanding clients. That is how they got away with charging such exorbitant fees.

I refreshed my make-up and drew on the gloves while Pam pinned up my hair, then I climbed into the heels and Pam lovingly draped the cloak over my shoulders, unable to resist running her hands over the fabric. She arranged it becomingly, so that it wouldn't slip off but didn't conceal the gown below. She hugged me and said again she was really glad that we were sisters and she looked forward to getting to know me much better now that we could spend more time together as equals.

I hugged her right back and said, "Pam, I'm really glad you're my friend. I know when most girls get married they have lots of girlfriends around, giggling and doing girly stuff together, but that's never really been me. But I'm glad you're here, and I really appreciate your help this evening."

Then she said, "I too do not have many females that I consider close friends, but Dear Abby says that female bonding rituals are important. It is good for you to have someone who is not your husband with whom you can share information. Bearing this in mind, allow me to give you a little tip for later tonight," and she leaned forward, and whispered something in my ear. I looked at her in astonishment, and said, "Ick! Pam, are you sure? He's never asked me for anything like that."

"He probably thought it would gross you out, but he really loves it, I promise you."

I said, "how did you know we weren't already doing it?"

She smiled, and said, "I share a bond with the Master too, you know. Whatever he feels, I feel, and I know damn well I have never felt from him the reaction you will get if you do this." My eyes widened.

"You mean you can tell when we're…" words failed me. This just hadn't even crossed my mind. How could I have been so stupid?

"Yes, if I choose to listen. Most times I don't – I'm too busy having sex myself."

"Well, you'd damn well better not be listening in tonight!" A thought struck me, and I had to ask.

"Does this mean that Eric can always tell when you're having sex, too?"

"Yes, of course, but the Master doesn't usually bother. We have been together too long for it to hold any interest for us any more. We are neither of us voyeurs; as long as the other one is happy, that is all that matters to us. And I must say, Sookie, I am very impressed with how happy you make the Master in bed. He's never been this satisfied with a human since I have known him. Just try this little trick and he'll be even happier, I promise."

I was still worried.

"Pam promise me that you won't use the bond tonight."

She grinned again. "Sookie, if you do this to the Master, I won't need the bond; they'll hear him in New Orleans!"

"Please, Pam. It's my wedding night! No listening, okay?"

"OK, Sookie. Word of a vampire." She raised three fingers, parodying the Boy Scouts of America as she grinned sardonically.

"Pam, I'm serious." Her smile disappeared.

"So am I. I have given you my word, and vampires do not break their promises to other vampires. This is something you will learn now that you are one of us, Sookie. If you give your word to another vampire, you are bound by the blood code to keep it, come what may. I am sure the Master will also tell you this; you have so much to learn over the coming nights. Meanwhile, let me give you a few more details." She explained a little more, and I giggled. It seemed so bizarre, but she assured me that it worked every time.

"I know he likes to call the shots in the bedroom, but I guarantee that if you do this, he'll be on his knees begging you for more. It never fails. Just call it a little tribute to Girl Power." She grinned and I shrugged, and said, "Okay, if you're sure." It would never have occurred to me to do something like this, but after all, she had spent far more time in bed with Eric than I had, although I hoped to overtake her record in the course of the next few centuries. It was weird; although I knew she and Eric had been sexual partners for a great many years, I just didn't feel jealous of her. Possibly, because it was such a different relationship now. They seemed comfortable with each other, more like old friends. I knew Pam was no threat to me.

A final check in the mirror, then she preceded me to the door of the function room, slipped through it and gave a signal to the band. They had been watching for it, and halted what they were playing in the middle of a measure, to sound a loud, dramatic chord. Everyone stopped dancing and talking (and drinking) and looked round, Pam said loudly, "Your majesty, honoured guests, please prepare to bid the bride and groom farewell," and she opened the door wide. Everyone moved to the sides of the room as I entered, leaving a pathway clear for me to where the king still sat, talking to Eric. The dark-haired boy whom I had sampled earlier was standing just behind the throne. Evidently he had been a hit with his majesty.

I moved slowly, and as gracefully as I could manage in the heels, down the room, head high and smiling slightly as the king rose to his feet. He stepped forward to the edge of the dais. I reached him and curtsied low (no point in wasting all that practice), which of course meant that he got an eyeful of my cleavage; He took my gloved hand and raised me and I saw that his fangs had emerged, so I guess he appreciated the view. Then he turned and beckoned Eric who had remained standing by the throne. He seemed almost turned to stone, staring at me as though he couldn't believe his eyes, but then he pulled himself together and stepped forward to take my hand from the king. Felipe patted him on the shoulder and said,

"You are a very lucky man, Eric. You are particularly lucky that you saw her first, and that you had the good sense to pledge her with the knife. Had it not been for that…who knows? It might have been _my_ wedding that we were celebrating today."

He smiled, but I wasn't sure how happy he really was. There was a slight tension in the air, and I wasn't sure how we were going to get out of this situation gracefully, but Eric was more than equal to the occasion. He bowed and said, "I am aware of how lucky I am, your majesty, and I am also aware of the honour that you have done us both in solemnising our marriage. As a token of our gratitude, may I humbly beg you to accept a small gift which I have taken the liberty of acquiring for you?" He turned and signalled to Thalia, who opened another door and escorted into the room a human female. She was a tiny Japanese girl – barely five feet tall – and she was exquisite. Her skin was pale, with only the faintest hint of delicate colour in her cheeks, and her raven-black hair fell in a shining wave almost to her waist. She wore a pale green cheong-sam, slit to the thigh, and she kept her eyes modestly downcast as she approached the dais. "This is Mariko, sire, and she is that rarest of rarities – a type AB Negative. I discovered her some time ago, and immediately reserved her for your exclusive attention. May I offer her to you with my deepest respect?" The king nodded mutely and Eric gestured for her to mount the dais. She knelt, with her head bowed, and Felipe all but licked his lips as looked down at her.

I felt kind of sorry for the girl, and wondered if she was a volunteer. I quickly dipped into her mind, but she was glamoured to the hilt and there was no way past that white noise. Strangely, I could sense another mind, close at hand; one with a signature I'd not encountered before. It was similar to Eric's but it wasn't him. I had a closer look, and my knees nearly gave way beneath me. It was King Felipe. But he was a _vampire! _I should not be able to read his mind, but he was coming across loud and clear! My years of training myself to keep a straight face no matter what I heard came to my rescue, and I held Eric's hand real hard, causing him to glance at me in puzzlement, as I had a little skim through the king's mind. He had been real mad that he had missed me, but Eric's gift of Mariko had overlaid his annoyance with a mixture of hunger and lust. He was prepared to let us go, at least for now. He waved his hand graciously as Eric asked "May we have your permission to withdraw?" Eric bowed, I curtseyed again and we both left the dais and passed down the length of the room towards the exit. I couldn't help but admire Eric's foresight – he had provided Felipe with a diversion at a potentially dangerous moment, and the strategy had worked perfectly.

As we moved down the room I hastily touched other vampire minds. They were all accessible, but it seemed to be only if I tried – they didn't intrude on me, the way human minds did. This was potentially disastrous, both for me personally and also for my relationship with Eric. I would have to give this some thought before I could decide what to do.

Next minute we were out of the exit, followed by the guests, and there was Eric's Corvette awaiting us. Eric lifted me effortlessly over the side of the car and settled me in my place before vaulting into the driver's seat himself. He started the engine and the guests cheered and waved as we moved off, to an immense clattering noise – someone (I suspect Pam) had tied a couple of tin cans to our tailpipe. I looked back as we paused before entering the main drag and the guests were all moving back inside, except Pam, who stood watching silently. I waved to her, and she waved back and then she was out of sight as we turned a corner and were away.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

We turned another corner and then Eric pulled over and hopped out of the car to remove the tins. He disposed of them in a handy garbage can and got back in.

Before he could start the engine again, I had decided what I needed to do. It hadn't really taken much thinking about at all, when I got right down to it. There was only one thing I could do. I took a deep breath (even though I didn't really need to – it was just habit), and said, "Eric, honey, we need to talk."

He glanced at me, one eyebrow raised. "That sounds ominous." He said lightly, and his hand moved to the ignition.

I put my hand on his knee and said, "it might be. I've just discovered something which you need to know, and I'd rather tell you now, before we get back to your house."

"_Our_ house, my wife." I wasn't so sure about that. Not any more.

"Before I tell you, I just want to say that I love you. I love you so much it hurts."

He smiled. "I love you too."

"Well, after you've heard what I've got to say, you might just change your mind about that."

His smile disappeared. "Sookie, what do you mean? What could you possibly say that would make me stop loving you?" He was taking me seriously now; he turned in his seat to face me and took my hands in his own, his eyes intent on mine.

"Baby, before I tell you, I need to say a couple of things. Firstly, I want you to realise that I am aware of what this information will probably do to us. I've seen it before, and I know it can happen. So, if you don't feel you can handle it, I don't want you to feel bad - I will understand. Secondly, I wouldn't tell you this if I didn't have a damn good reason; you're now my husband and my maker _and _my sheriff, and you have a right to know this." Eric's face was now stony.

"Are you saying that you found out something _this evening_ that could change, damage or even destroy our relationship? And that, knowing what it could do to us, you are still proposing to tell me?"

I nodded, miserably. "You have to know, Eric."

His voice was level and he was clearly bracing himself for the worst as he asked, "has…has your love for Bill re-awakened?"

"_No_!" I looked at him in horror. "Oh no, no! Honey, I could never love anyone but you! No, that's not it!"

"Sookie, now you're scaring me. That was the worst thing I could think of. Tell me quickly, before my imagination drives me insane."

I said, "Do you remember telling me how every vampire has abilities, like you can fly and Stan can call his nestmates, that sort of thing?"

He nodded.

"Well, tonight I discovered what my ability is."

"And?"

"you know I can't read vampires' minds?"

"Yes?"

"Well, now I can." There was a silence. I didn't dare look up at him, but kept my gaze on our linked hands. After a minute he said, "explain, please." I couldn't tell anything from his voice, the bond was closed down, and I didn't dare look in his mind. That would be just too much.

"Well, when I woke up I could feel you, but I thought that was just because of the whole blood thing, and that you could hear me too. But then when you gave Mariko to the king, I had a look in her mind, just to see how she felt about it, and there was another mind nearby. I didn't recognise it, so I had a look, and oh, honey, it was Felipe's! I could hear exactly what he was thinking!" I sobbed and turned away from him, trying to conceal my tears. A white hand appeared in front of me, holding an equally white pocket-handkerchief, which I used to mop my eyes while vaguely wondering if he kept a supply of them in his pockets for when he was with me, because it certainly wasn't the one he had used earlier to wipe my face. I did seem to cry a lot when I was around him.

"And what was he thinking?" Eric just sounded mildly interested, as though we'd been discussing the weather. I got a grip on myself and straightened up in the seat.

"He was real pissed at you for finding me first, but he was mightily taken with Mariko. I think he's going to leave us in peace, at least for a while, but he might want to borrow me occasionally." I paused and there was a long silence. Eventually I had to ask. "Eric? Are you real mad?"

"I thought your new gift meant you didn't need to ask that sort of question any more." There was a strong flavour of irony in the tone, but it didn't tell me much. I tried to explain as best I could.

"Well, it doesn't seem to be the same with vamps as with humans – I can't hear everything all the time, so I don't have to block it out. It's only when I deliberately listen, as far as I can tell, and I'm sure not listening to you right now."

"Hmmm." His response was thoughtful. "Tell me why you think this information will destroy our marriage."

"Because it always has in the past," I replied, miserably. "Every time I've ever tried to date a regular guy, as soon as he found out that I could hear his thoughts he always backed off. Nobody can take the idea that they can't have any secrets. And it's particularly important for you."

"Why?"

I stared at him in astonishment. "Because you're sheriff! You're Mr Secretive! I'm not stupid, Eric, I know that you have to have secrets! Can you imagine what it would be like for you, knowing that you can't keep anything secret, from who you're about to fire to ... to what you're going to get me for my birthday? How could you live like that? I couldn't expect that from you! So, like I said, I do understand what you must be feeling and if you can't cope with this I'll just go back to my old home. I'm sure Sam will give me my job back, and I can still work the night shifts." He was silent. I scanned his face, looking for some sign, but there was nothing. He might have been a marble statue in the moonlight. Well, that answered that. I sighed, thanked heaven that my old room was still ready for me, and kissed my future happiness goodbye as I muttered, "OK. I understand. Well, so long Eric. It's been fun." and I undid my seat belt and began to open the car door. His hand on my arm stopped me.

"I haven't finished with you yet." His voice was stern. I slumped back into my seat.

"You say you can now tell what vampires are thinking, if you choose to."

"Uh-huh."

"Then prove it to me. Look into my mind and tell me what my thoughts are."

"I don't want to do that!"

"I'm not asking you what you want. This "gift" may be useful to me. That is why you told me, isn't it? You said as your sheriff I had a right to know, so, as your sheriff, I order you to demonstrate this talent. Now."

I stared at him, hardly believing that he could talk to me this way. It was hard enough for me to cope with his rejection as it was - the last thing I wanted to do was go into his mind and see the hurt and suspicion and withdrawal in full Technicolor. Suddenly I was real tired. I thought, what the hell, and picked up his hand and closed my eyes. I reached into his mind, which was broadcasting very strongly. The message there was unmistakeable; _Lovetrustlove__reproach__lovelovelovelovelove. _But…was this for real? My eyes flew open and I searched his face. He was looking at me, smiling, one eyebrow raised. I dived back in, looking wildly for some hint of rejection or attempt at concealment, but his mind was wide open. I surfaced, hardly daring to believe it, but there was no way he could lie to me. He didn't care! He genuinely didn't care! My future, which had lain in pieces thirty seconds ago, suddenly included Eric again and I cast myself into his arms, sobbing for joy. He held me to him, murmuring endearments until I was quiet and just feeling loved and _accepted_. Then he put his finger under my chin and tilted my head up so he could see my face as he gently wiped my eyes (yet another clean handkerchief!) and then kissed the lids, his cool lips soothing their soreness.

"My darling, as far as I am concerned, we two are one. Even if you do hear confidential things, I know you would never tell anyone else, so it is as safe as if I alone knew it. I trust you absolutely. More, apparently, than you trusted me." He smiled ruefully.

"Oh, Eric, I'm so sorry; I just couldn't imagine anyone being willing to put up with me. And I thought you were being really cruel when you made me read you."

"No, sweetheart. I knew you wouldn't believe just words, you'd always have your doubts, but you'd have to accept the evidence of your own mind. But, it is very important that you conceal this from others, as if Felipe found out he would never trust me again. It could also make you a target for others who would want to use you. And…I would be grateful if you could stay out of my mind around birthdays?"

"Of course, honey. I promise. But, can I take a peek occasionally, just to make sure I'm doing things the way you want? I want to make you happy."

"You do that just by being here. But yes, if you really need to, you can look. And now, if you're feeling better, shall we go home, Mrs Northman?"

"Yes please, Mr Northman." I snuggled back into my seat and did up the seat-belt as he started the engine and we slid into the night.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Eric drove fast and smooth, using his left hand only, his right hand caressing my thigh. I wasn't sure if it was me or the velvet that attracted him the most, but I decided to reciprocate. Because I'm not a complete idiot I waited until we were on a straight section of highway and then I reached across and stroked the bulge in the front of his dress pants. His startled reaction made the car swoop across three lanes, tires squealing, and it was only his vampire speed and strength that saved us from T-boning a parked truck. I laughed delightedly as Eric fought to regain control of the car (and himself), and I reflected briefly that this was a real change. Twenty-four hours ago, I would have been terrified, but now it was just exciting. Once we were travelling smoothly in a straight line again, Eric spoke.

His voice was surprisingly level as he said, "Sookie, if you do that again I am very much afraid that I will be forced to stop this car, lay you out on the hood and fuck you to within an inch of your life. Now, while I would be more than happy to oblige you if that is what you want, I cannot help feeling that we would both enjoy the experience more in our own home. What do you think?"

I placed my right fist to my left shoulder and bowed my head, "Whatever you say, master," sarcastically parodying all his ghastly fangbanger waitresses who got a real kick out of their subservience. Eric tolerated their behaviour (I suspect he secretly felt it was no more than his due), but did not openly encourage it. If they wanted to delude themselves, that was their business. He smiled and said, "that's more like it, wife." We completed the rest of the short drive in happy silence.

As we turned into his gated community instead of merely slowing to allow the security guard to identify him, he stopped altogether. The guard, Dan, came over at once. You didn't keep Eric waiting.

"Evening, Mr Northman. Ma'am." He touched his peaked cap as he took me in. His gaze widened as he registered the dress. Eric frowned slightly and when he spoke his voice was cold.

"This is my _wife_, Mrs Stackhouse Northman. She will be living here from now on. Take note of this and make sure that your colleagues are informed. I do not wish her to be subjected to any inconvenience regarding future identification. Is that clear?" Dan's face changed immediately, and his gaze returned to Eric. "Yes sir, no problem, sir." He glanced at me again, respectfully. "Welcome to Highgrove ma'am. And, er, congratulations." I smiled pleasantly, showing just a hint of fang, and Dan stepped back, ostentatiously making a note on his clipboard. This was my first experience of being the wife of a powerful figure, and it felt real good. Had I arrived here on my own, I doubt he would have shown such respect.

Eric gunned the engine and we moved forward the hundred yards or so to the front of his fieldstone house. He parked on the drive and was at my side of the car instantly, opening the door. I unbuckled the seatbelt and he bent and lifted me into his arms. I enjoyed my very own _Gone with the Wind _moment as he opened the front door, carried me over the threshold, pushed the door shut with his foot and then kissed me. I say kissed me, but those words don't really do justice to the experience. Eric put a thousand years of practice into that kiss and I decided he hadn't wasted a second of it. His arms tightened around me as he gave it everything; Lips, tongue, teeth, the full works. It was fortunate that I no longer needed to breathe, as we didn't surface for quite some time. Eventually we broke apart and he lowered me to my feet. As he did so, his head came up and his nostrils flared. His whole body tensed as he inhaled. "Someone has been here," he said.

"Yes, I know. It's part of my wedding gift to you." I smiled at him and took his hand. "Come and see."

I led him to the closed living-room door, hoping desperately that my careful instructions had been followed.

"Close your eyes."

"Sookie, what have you been up to?" His voice was full of amusement and suspicion.

"You'll see. Now, no fair peeking."

I opened the door and flicked the light-switch. A comprehensive look round and I breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, I know I didn't need to breathe any more, but sometimes you just need to sigh. It all looked great. I drew Eric in after me, and closed the door.

"You can open your eyes now."

He did so and his face changed. Puzzlement, wonder, and finally amazement chased each other across his features.

"Sookie, what …how did you...?" his voice tailed away as he took in his transformed living-room. While we had been away, E(E)E had turned it into a replica of a Viking feasting-hall. All around were tapestries and trophies, battleaxes, shields, helmets and the heads of dead animals (icky but authentic), all carefully hung on wooden frames against the walls as Eric would not have thanked me for drilling holes in his decor. His modern furniture had been stored in a spare room, to be replaced with rough wooden tables, stools and benches, and some of his pieces that were too big to be moved were draped in hides and furs to conceal them. There were drinking-horns of mead standing around (for the scent rather than for drinking, obviously) and the floor was covered with furs. Eric's favourite chair had been carefully draped with black Russian mink and set by the fire, which was waiting to be lit. Across the hearth was a huge black bearskin, so thick your feet disappeared in the fur, and there was a pile of Viking-type garments with accessories on a long table at the end of the room.

"I did some research and got E(E)E to help me," I said. "I wanted to make you feel comfortable and at home for our wedding night. Do you like it?"

"Like it? I love it." He picked me up and hugged me, smiling happily before setting me down and making a bee-line for the clothes. He had a deep love of finery, and I had selected some stunning items for him to choose from. He turned them over, holding some up against himself and then frowned slightly.

"These are all for a man. Where are yours?" he asked

"Well, honey, when I looked at Viking clothes, the women's stuff just wasn't very….well, sexy. So I thought you'd prefer this." I gestured to my own dress.

He smiled. "You're quite right. Female clothing in my day was more practical than provocative. You'd better keep what you've got on…for the moment." His smile turned into something else, and I went weak at the knees, briefly.

"I'll just light the fire and then go and warm up some TrueBlood, while you're getting changed," I said and knelt on the rug to get the LivingFlame gas fire going. It was curious that Eric so much enjoyed a real fire, as vampires are very flammable, but there was a fire-guard, so I guess it was as safe as it could be. Then I headed for the kitchen removing my gloves and cloak as I did so. I took my time, knowing he would want to try on a lot of different things, and took great care decanting the rich red fluid into a couple of drinking-horns I had asked E(E)E to leave in the kitchen in readiness.

I loaded them onto a tray and came back into the living-room, and when I saw the picture Eric presented I nearly dropped the tray. He was lounging in his fur-covered chair, wearing black leather trousers, tucked into soft boots of the same material and secured by a belt of golden links with a huge amber buckle. His magnificent white chest was completely bare, and he wore a great necklace of amber and boars' teeth. He had clasped arm-rings of gold and turquoise above his huge biceps and his hair had been removed from its ponytail and now hung loose on his broad shoulders, bound back with a band of gold. He looked like a pagan god; an utterly, utterly gorgeous pagan god, and it was all I could do not to hurl myself at him as he sat there smirking slightly. This was his payback for the jolt I had given him in the car. He took in my dropped jaw and staring eyes with immense satisfaction and said, "Well, what do you think?"

"Eric!" I gasped. "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!" He rose to his feet and took the tray from my slackened grip and put it on the table by his chair. Then he stood as close to me as he could (vampires don't do the whole personal space thing) and put his hands on my shoulders, looking down into my awe-struck eyes. His own were glowing, and he led me to the bearskin rug. "Now, my bride, the waiting is over" he breathed, and slowly reached behind me and unzipped my gown before easing it off my shoulders and down over my hips. It fell to the floor and when he saw what I was wearing underneath his fangs extended and he hissed softly.

I had on a black silk corset, very tight, with matching garter-belt and panties and sheer silk stockings. I had spent nearly as much time choosing the underwear as the dress, but one look at Eric's face told me it was worth it. My breasts swelled up from the top of the corset, which was designed to maximise their fullness, the nipples only just concealed by the fabric. He reached for me but I skipped back a step and said, "I haven't finished giving you your wedding present yet. Sit down, honey." He backed up and sank into his chair, reluctantly, not taking his eyes off my body while I tidied the dress away and found the remote for the stereo. I had arranged for it to be cued up to the sexiest song I could think of, (Unchained Melody, by the Righteous Brothers) and I started it playing before going into a very special routine that I had been planning and practising for some days now, with help from my cousin Claude, who is a male stripper. As I said, I can't sing, but I can dance, and Claude had no difficulty teaching me something suitable. In fact, he was surprisingly complimentary, saying that if I ever wanted a job at Hooligan's (the club he owned and worked at) he would be happy to employ me.

First I stepped out of my high-heeled pumps one at a time, and started a slow sexy boogie, and then began unfastening my suspenders, alternating between each thigh as I went. I kept my eyes fixed on Eric, and he kept his fixed on my hands, sipping his drink slowly. Eventually all eight had been popped. Then I placed one foot on a low table, toes pointed, and began to slowly roll the stocking down, running my hands up and down my thighs, coming very close to some very personal areas. Once it was rolled down to my ankle I took hold of the toe, lifted the foot slightly and slid the stocking off in one smooth motion, before lightly flicking it to lie over his shoulder. He smiled slightly at that and turned his head to place a kiss on the silk. I proceeded to the other leg but this time I faced him and placed my foot on his knee. I bent forward low over my thigh so that he could get the full benefit of my breasts. Once removed, I sent the second stocking after the first. He shook it off, and his smile grew wider as he set his drink down.

Next I began fingering the black ribbons that laced the front of the corset, ending in a big bow at the top with long trailing ends. I smiled at him and moved in real close, my knee on the chair between his thighs, and I trailed the free ends of the ribbon across his face, gently stroking his eyelids and cheeks before teasing his lips with the black silk. He made a sudden movement and clenched his teeth on the fabric. This is what I had been hoping for, and I very slowly leaned back, the ribbon growing taut between us and the bow gradually coming undone under the tension. He didn't release the ribbons so I leaned in to kiss him, caressing his fangs with my tongue, and eventually he opened his mouth to return the kiss, letting the ribbons go. He reached for me again, but I took his wrists and held them down on the arms of his chair. "Ah-ah, look but don't touch," I murmured teasingly. After a long moment I drew back and began to slowly unlace the front of the corset. As he watched I saw his hands clenching on the arms of his chair as he struggled to control himself, while his eyes were fixed on my breasts. As the black silk began to part, exposing more tanned flesh, he spoke hoarsely, saying, "Oh Gods….they're like…they're like ripe peaches."

"Mmm." I smiled, teasingly. "They're firm and juicy, too." I finished the unlacing, but kept the fabric in place with my elbows clamped to my sides. Then I turned my back to him and with a sudden movement I opened the garment wide, holding it out to the sides like wings before allowing it to dangle from my right hand and then dropping it to the side. This was all done in time to the music which was beginning to climax. I was now wearing only the panties. They concealed very little of my smooth golden behind, consisting as they did of two tiny triangles of black lace and silk, secured at the sides by two bows, and I continued my dance, exaggerating the sway of my hips, as I knew that this made the black silk triangle move enticingly. I looked back at him over my shoulder. He licked his lips, his gaze fixed on my behind, his whole body quivering with tension. My hands then went to my hair and I slowly took out the pins that held it up, still grinding my hips. I shook my head and my curls came cascading down, the same colour as his, but even longer, coming well below my shoulder blades. Finally I began to run my hands over my hips, stroking my sides and toying with the black bows. I slowly undid one bow and then the other, allowing the silky fabric to float to the ground. I was now completely nude, except for the ruby necklace, but still facing away from him. I unfastened the catch of the necklace and laid it carefully on a table, even though it hadn't been part of my routine.

I had timed things perfectly; the music came to its final bar, I said, "_now,_ my love, the waiting is over," and I turned to face him, legs apart and braced, head up, hands behind my neck, elbows back, which thrust my breasts forward. He gasped as he took in the view, which he had never seen before. Oh, he'd seen my breasts often enough before, but never like this. Because now a shining gold ring set with a diamond was suspended, trembling, from each tender pink nipple. This was why I was glad I hadn't shared Eric's bed for the last week. The piercing had hurt like crazy, but the man in the shop in downtown Shreveport had assured me that any swelling and soreness would be gone within a few days. He was right, and the effect on Eric was everything I had hoped for. He was leaning forward and his eyes burned blue. The bond between us transmitted his emotions with complete clarity and I felt a hint of fear; he was almost insane with lust. He rose to his full magnificent height and took one long pace forward, which brought him right up close to me. His fangs were fully extended and he pointed wordlessly to the bearskin rug. I sank to my knees, wondering what I'd started, and then slipped to my back, gazing up at him as he stood over me. There was a metallic sound as the links in his belt tore apart like paper between his strong fingers and then his trousers and boots were gone and he was superbly naked except for the barbaric ornaments. "Spread your legs." His voice was ragged, and I swiftly complied. His manhood was what I can only describe as rampant; so was his libido after seven days of abstinence, and, before I had time to consider the wisdom of deliberately driving a six-foot-four Viking into a sexual frenzy, he was on me and in me, impaling me with one smooth thrust.

His mouth stifled my gasp, clamped to mine as though he had not kissed a woman in a century and his fangs cut me as his tongue forced its way ruthlessly past my lips and teeth to plunder the soft interior of my mouth, thrusting and twining with my own tongue as I met his passion with my own. His hands were everywhere, kneading and squeezing my flesh. He raised his head, and gazed into my eyes briefly before lowering his mouth to my right breast and capturing the nipple and the golden ring together. The tip of his tongue slipped through it briefly, lapping deliciously at the pink tip and then his fangs plunged into the areola and he sucked strongly, while his long white fingers went to the other breast. My head went back and I writhed in pleasure. He ran his thumb through the ring (I had had them sized very carefully so that his thumb would be a perfect fit), rubbing back and forth, the rough pad rasping over the nipple while his nail lifted the ring and imparted a wonderful tugging feeling. The dual sensation was amazing and the effect of his mouth and his hands and his body together made me squirm in ecstasy, while my nipples became as hard as bullets. My nails raked his back as his pelvis began a thrusting motion that sent waves of pleasure through me as the speed gradually increased.

Then, I became aware of something that I had never experienced before. Our bond had always enabled us to know how the other was feeling, but now that we were double-bonded, as maker and child as well, I began to sense an extra dimension. It was so much more intense; there was an additional layer of sensation, somehow, and I suddenly realised that I could feel his pleasure as well as my own. Wow! Oh wow! This was completely new. He became aware of the change too; he lifted his head and looked at me, a startled and delighted expression in his eyes. Somehow we had created a kind of circuit, each feeling the other's pleasure which enhanced our own pleasure, which enhanced the other's and…oh boy…this was intense. I could no longer tell what was Eric and what was me, and I _really_ didn't care.

He held my gaze as I lifted my hips the better to accommodate him and I began to realise how much he had always restrained himself when he had made love to me before. As a human, I would have had no chance of matching his vampire speed and he had evidently held back for my sake, but now all restraint was gone and to my delight I found I could keep up with ease. He began a grinding, rolling action that I had never experienced before and I began to match his motion with my own. As he transferred his mouth to my other breast I bit his shoulder and drank briefly. He made an incoherent noise and shuddered all over, and then I reversed the direction of my hips, my fingers now digging into his perfect butt. The change in motion brought us into even closer alignment and I nearly passed out with pleasure. Time lost all meaning, there was a twenty-one gun salute going off in my pelvis and I was just beginning to wonder dimly if vampire sex could actually kill you, when Eric raised his face to the ceiling and arched his back, his butt clenching under my fingers as he literally howled with ecstasy. It was an eerie sound, and an eerie sight, the muscles in his neck standing out and my blood dripping from his fangs onto my face and neck as he climaxed, his eyes closed. My body shook under the final thrusts of his manhood and then I was flying, and we touched the gates of heaven together.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

When I came to myself, he was lying on top of me, motionless, his eyes closed, shuddering occasionally as currents of pleasure rippled through us both. Now that I was vampire, his weight didn't trouble me in the least. I gently stroked his back, kissing his ear and his cheek, and he gradually came back to me. His eyes opened, focussed, and he smiled slowly. We lay in each other's arms for a very long time, feeling each other's bliss, just floating in an ocean of pure joy. At last, he murmured, "Sookie, that was… amazing… fantastic. I haven't had an orgasm like that for centuries. You've bewitched me, woman."

I smiled. "Did you like your wedding present?"

"It was just like you – a torment and a delight. Where did you learn that routine?"

"My cousin Claude taught me. You know he's a stripper."

"The fairy?"

"That's the one. In fact, he offered me a job at Hooligans."

"What did you say?"

"I told him this was for a one-time-only private show."

"Good. Although, I wouldn't mind a repeat performance sometime."

"You can have one whenever you like, baby. I video'd the whole thing." I pointed to the small camera up high in the corner of the room. He looked slightly alarmed.

"Has that been recording all evening?"

"No, honey, it was timed to turn on and off with the music. You got me and nothing else." He smiled, reassured. He rolled to the side and his tongue delicately cleaned the drops of blood from my face and neck, while his long white fingers gently traced the curves of my body from my shoulder down my side to my hip, where they rested, lazily drawing patterns on my skin. His tongue moved a little lower, flicking gently at my breasts and their new adornments.

"You have the most beautiful breasts I have ever seen," he murmured.

"How can you be sure, with all the women you must have had over the centuries?" I teased him. "I'm sure you've forgotten one or two."

He grinned again, showing his fangs. "You're right; I had better examine them carefully to ensure that my judgement is correct." His long cool fingers cupped each breast and his thumbs gently passed through the hoops, caressing the tender pink tips, which quivered and hardened under his expert attentions.

"Hmm," he continued, in a considering tone of voice. "Skin, satin smooth and beautifully golden; Texture, firm but pliant. I think need to sample the evidence before giving judgement." He lowered his head and I gasped as his mouth sought and found my right breast, while his fingers got up close and personal with the left one. I felt his lips and tongue and a jolt of electricity went through my belly. After a few minutes he trailed feather-light kisses across to the left breast, leaving goose-bumps in his path before pausing just short of his target. I looked down at him and found that he was looking up at me, waiting for the eye contact. As our eyes met he smiled and sank his fangs into my flesh at which I cried aloud and my body convulsed. He drank lightly while his left hand gently played with my right nipple and its ring.

Eventually he raised his head. "Sookie, lover, do these come out?" His fingers flicked at the ring.

"Why, don't you like them?" I was disappointed.

"That's the problem. I like them so much that while you are wearing them I don't think I'm going to be able to leave the bed, let alone the house."

"Well, if you put it like that, I guess I'll have to remove them some time. You do have a living to earn after all, and now you're married you'll have to make a lot more money than you did." I teased him.

"Is my little wife a spendthrift?" He smiled back and we continued gently teasing each other. He began boasting about just how many of the women at our wedding had wanted him for themselves, so I thought I'd remind him he wasn't the only one to be found attractive.

"Do you remember what Felipe said? That if he'd seen me first it would have been his wedding we were celebrating?"

Eric snorted. "He was assuming that you'd have consented to marry him."

"Well, I might have been tempted. He is the king, after all, and you're only a sheriff. If I'd married him, I'd be your queen right now."

"You are already that, my treasure." He raised my hand to his lips.

"No, really. If I was your queen, you'd have to do whatever I said or I could order you to be staked or something."

"You would never do that, my darling."

"Well, perhaps not. Not if you begged real hard." He lifted an eyebrow.

"That is something you'll never see."

"What, you begging for mercy?"

"Or for anything else. I'm a Viking. Vikings don't beg."

"Not ever?"

"Even Ocella could never make me beg. He tried many times, even offering me my freedom, but I would not."

"Why not? You would have been free of him."

"I told you. I'm a Viking, and Vikings…"

"…don't beg." I finished the sentence for him. "Yeah, I get it." I thought of Pam's words, earlier that evening. Hmmm. " Still, I bet I could get you to."

"You're welcome to try." He smiled a small superior smile, and that's when I decided to go for it. I sat up, pushing him off me. I was surprised at how easy I found it; he was very heavy and usually I would not have been able to move him. Go, Vampire Super-Strength!

"Okay," I said. "You're on. But you have to promise to do exactly as I say."

He looked up at me in mild surprise, and said, "very well. I promise – provided you don't simply order me to beg. That would be cheating."

"No problem. But remember, I have your word as a vampire, and Pam told me vamps keep faith with other vamps. Yes?"

He nodded. "It's one of our most important rules."

"OK then. First thing, I want you on your back with your hands over your head." He obediently rolled over and extended his arms, grinning. Just the action of stretching did things to the muscles in his arms and chest that made me go weak at the knees. I removed his armbands and necklace (the headband was long gone) and looked around. There was a heavy pine table near his head. "Get a hold on that table leg, and _don't_ let go until I say you can. In fact, just to remind you, I'm going to tie you there." With that I picked up the ribbon that had laced my corsets, and began to wind it swiftly round his wrists and the wood he was now gripping.

"Sookie, you know that this would never hold me," he said, slightly puzzled.

"It's not meant to – it's just a reminder that you promised not to let go. _No matter what I do."_ I grinned and then reached for my discarded stockings. "Now we'll just blindfold you."

"Why?" he asked as I folded one of them. Although very sheer, the four layers of silk together made a perfectly effective blindfold, even for a vampire.

"You know as well as I do that if you're deprived of one sense, it heightens the others. Well, I want your other senses heightened." I fastened the blindfold behind his head.

"Sookie, as much as I love you, and as desirable as you undoubtedly are, I will _not_ beg you to have sex with me."

"Oh, don't worry honey, you're going to get all the sex you can handle. After all, this is our wedding night, right? Now, legs apart, mister. I'll be back in a sec." He obligingly spread his long legs and I hurried into the bedroom. I found what I wanted in his nightstand and returned to the living-room. I shivered with desire as I looked down at his beautiful naked body, just waiting for my attention. I knelt between his thighs and for the next ten minutes or so I addressed myself entirely to his pleasure, gently massaging, licking, stroking, caressing, sucking and nibbling everything between his knees and his navel. He quivered gently and sighed as I worked, his hips moving languorously as I shifted my target or technique. His fangs were out and he was clearly enjoying this intimate attention immensely; Vamps really don't seem to need much in the way of a recovery period between bouts of sex, (definitely another upside to non-traditional dating) and in a matter of minutes he was erect again. He really was an awesome sight; when at attention his little soldier was as thick as my wrist and damn near as long as my forearm. Eventually I knelt astride his hips. This was where the fun began. I reached down, positioning him carefully below the entrance to my body. Very slowly I lowered myself a few inches before coming to a halt with the sensitive tip of his penis just inside me. I flexed my inner muscles a bit and he groaned and said, "more." I relaxed and raised up just a fraction before sinking a tiny bit lower and gripping him again.

I thanked my lucky stars for Miss Higgins, our seventh grade health and hygiene teacher, who had taught us girls all about pelvic floor muscles and Kegel exercises. Since then I had done my Kegels nearly every night, and as a result my muscle tone and control in that area were superb, even without the addition of vampire strength. I raised and lowered myself several times, each time pausing and gripping firmly before sinking a little lower, until eventually he was almost completely engulfed within me and he was moaning in ecstasy. His hands clenched and unclenched convulsively on the wood of the table-leg as he said "Ohhh, yes! Oh, Sookie, that feels so good!" It felt pretty damn good to me too. I rose up almost his entire length before swiftly impaling myself to the full on his erection. He cried out at that, and once I had made the necessary internal accommodations to his girth and length, I began to establish a slow rhythm of pressure and release and then added an equally slow up-and-down motion for good measure.

Around the edges of my own rising pleasure I could feel his arousal through the bond. He was sure enjoying himself, but there was a hint of smugness there, plus a steely core of determination not to give in to me. That was what I had to attack. I speeded up a little. That had the desired effect and when I felt his back arch beneath me as he approached climax, I swiftly squeezed down on his penis with my interior walls. This completely prevented him from achieving release, having much the same effect as closing the nozzle on a hosepipe. He lifted his head, although he couldn't see anything, and gasped, "_Vad fan_? …what are you doing ... ?" and then his voice tailed away in a groan as I tightened my grip still further, making a mental note to ask him later what that meant. His interior pressure built, but as long as I held him like that, there was absolutely nowhere for him to go.

"What's up, Eric?" I said sweetly. "Do you want to come?"

"You know I do," he said through clenched teeth.

"Do you need to come?" My voice was full of sympathy.

"Yes!" he groaned, his hips flexing beneath me.

Now for the sixty-four thousand dollar question. "Do you beg to come?"

"What? No! Never!" His head fell back and I could almost hear his teeth grinding as he answered me.

"Okay." I said in a happy tone of voice. "I can wait." I hummed a tune gently to myself, as his tension began to subside and his body grew still as he brought himself under control. After a thousand years of sexual activity, he was pretty good at self-control. Cautiously, I released my grip on him, knowing it wouldn't take much to inflame him again. Then I began to move again, slowly at first, gradually building up speed. My own arousal was proceeding nicely, thank you very much, and I knew that if I timed it just right, my own climax would simply further my diabolical designs.

He was muttering more words under his breath in a foreign language. I looked inside his head, and it was becoming a little clouded. The edges of his resolve were crumbling a little, and I knew I was working along the right lines. His fingernails were gouging deep marks in the table-leg as he fought for restraint, but I had a trick or two up my sleeve. Changing from the up-and down motion, I began to rotate my hips, imparting a sort of swirling sensation, first one way and then the other. He gasped as I did so, and his body began to quiver. So did mine. Within seconds he had reached his previous state of arousal and as I had a real happy moment my inner muscles contracted violently, once again preventing his climax. After a fantastic few minutes during which I screamed the plaster off the ceiling, I shook myself and re-focussed my gaze and my concentration. His head was thrashing from side to side as he fought his own internal battle. Of course, he had felt my release, but had not achieved his own. I giggled and asked the same questions, although this time my voice was considerably more ragged from my own good time.

"Eric, do you really want to come?"

"I'm not going to give you the satisfaction!" His voice was hoarse with effort. I smiled.

"Sorry, sweetheart – you already have. And it was just great. I'm surprised you didn't join me. Wouldn't you like to?"

"yes, damn you!"

"Well, you know the magic word."

"I told you, I'm a Viking, you harpy!"

"Oh Eric," I tutted. "That's not very nice. What a thing to call your bride!"

As I said this I quietly reached for the other stocking, wadding it up tightly and then as he opened his mouth to abuse me further, I rammed it between his teeth with my thumbs. The compressed silk immediately expanded, filling his mouth, and from then on he was forced to endure in silence whatever sweet torments I chose to inflict on him. And they were many and various. I had never had any man at my mercy before, let alone a powerful Viking vampire, and I let my imagination run riot. I don't know if this was part of my new vampire personality, but I found I really enjoyed the power. I spent nearly an hour playing with his helpless body, experimenting, watching his reactions, listening to his muffled groans, slowly chipping away at his resolution. Gradually he became more and more responsive to my touch until, when I leaned forward and sank my fangs into his rock-hard nipples, he nearly came off the floor. I grinned. My mighty vampire lover, the oldest and strongest vamp in Louisiana, control freak and sex-god _extraordinaire_, was starting to lose control. As I deliberately increased the level of his arousal, I decided it was time to bring my secret weapon into play.

I left his poor tormented nipples, and trailed my hand down his stomach. By then his skin was so sensitised that it jumped and quivered beneath my fingers. A whimper filtered round the gag, and I knew I was nearly there. I removed his gag, and whispered "Are you enjoying this, Eric?" He shook his head vigorously. His mind was in turmoil at the assault on his senses and the bond was flooded with frustration. "Poor sweet baby," I murmured. "If you're not having a good time, let's try a little something else. Bend your knees, honey, keeping your feet flat on the floor." He hesitated, and I said, "word of a vamp, remember?" He groaned and raised his knees, bringing his muscular thighs up behind me so that I could rest comfortably back against them, while still maintaining my grip. I reached for the tube of lubricant I had brought from the bedroom and I coated the fingers of my right hand thoroughly. Then I leaned forward slightly, reached back behind me between his thighs, and began to stroke the area between his butt cheeks. At that he stiffened, the bond filled with apprehension, and I smiled to myself. Before he knew what I was doing I had slipped two lubricated fingers into his back passage. I had never done this before, but Pam had explained carefully. I located the small bump that was Eric's prostate gland and caressed it once with my fingers before withdrawing swiftly.

The effect on him was electric. He froze motionless for a second, as though he could not believe what he was feeling, and then he cried out "Ssssoookie!" and the table-leg splintered beneath his hands as he bucked like a mad stallion, trying to throw me off. He could have unseated me in a second if I had allowed him the use of his hands, but his promise and his vampire pride held him; he would not release the table-leg. I braced my legs against his thighs, and laughed with delight, riding his body with ease as I had the use of my arms for balance. The feeling was fantastic, but all too soon he realised that his movement was just increasing his own arousal (as well as mine), so he stopped his thrashing about and lay rigid, every muscle in his body tense in his effort to maintain control. I let him rest for a few seconds and then began again, sliding my fingers back in and this time pressing firmly on his p-spot. His body jerked violently and he cried out raggedly as the new sensation tore through him. He gasped, "Sookie…no….I…Oh Gods…" and writhed beneath me as I continued my assault. I could literally hear him grinding his teeth as he tried to resist. I laughed with delight; how many times had Eric tormented me, bringing me to the edge of ecstasy and then backing off over and over again, playing my body as though it was a violin? Well, now _I _was the virtuoso and _he_ was the instrument. The bond told me of his double-edged agony; desperate for me to stop and give him release, but also desperate for me to continue the unbelievable sensations I was inducing in him. I withdrew my fingers a little and he stiffened.

"Sookie, please…" he gasped.

"What is it, Eric? Do you want me to continue?"

"Yes, oh Gods, yes…" his voice was hoarse with wanting and I knew I had won.

"Well, you know what to say, honey."

"please, Sookie…"

"Sorry, Eric, not good enough." I just teased the edge of his p-spot and he writhed, gasping.

"Eric, are you begging for this?" I wasn't specific about what he was begging for; it wasn't necessary.

"No!" he was lying through his (clenched) teeth.

"Are you sure?"

"I will not say it… _I am Viking_!"

"But _I_ am in charge right now." I gave a little twitch of my fingers, and he yipped.

"It must be nearly dawn by now." His voice was desperate, and it went to my heart to have to disillusion him.

"Sorry, sweetheart, dawn's seven-forty today, and it's only five-twenty-three. I can keep this up for another two hours, _but can you_?"

"Two hours!" The hope in his mind disintegrated, I pressed a little more firmly, and then the end came as his control finally crumbled. "No…I…won't!…Oh, Gods…yes, alright, damn you! Yes! I'm begging! Yes!"

The surrender which was torn from him was immediately followed by a deafening cry of ecstasy and relief as I removed my fingers, relaxed my pelvic muscles and finally allowed him to erupt in an orgasm of titanic proportions. I swiftly placed my wrist to his lips and he bit fiercely, drinking as his climax went on and on and I blissfully capped the volcano, feeling every last pulse and throb, writhing and undulating to squeeze out the last ounce of juice from his body.

At last his convulsions slowed, then ceased and he lay still, occasional tremors running across his skin. I reached up to remove the blindfold and untie him. Released, his arms fell to the sides, spread wide from his body in exhaustion, his eyes were closed, his fangs were retracted and his mind was a blank. I didn't dare enter there – he needed privacy and time to process what had just happened. I wasn't sure what effect this whole thing would have on him, but I wanted to help him come back to me, so I slipped from him to make my way on distinctly rubbery legs to the bathroom.

There I cleaned myself up and soaked some towels in hot, sandalwood-scented water (one of his favourite colognes), wrung them out, and came back to his side. Kneeling there, I very gently began to wipe him down with the warm moist towels, beginning with his much-abused manhood. I paid particular attention to this area, slowly massaging and stroking, before bending to plant a tender kiss there. Amazingly he was already stirring under my touch. Then I began wiping his hands. I kissed each one before moving on to his arms, shoulders and chest. I licked the traces of blood from the small wounds by his nipples, already almost healed, and then I started again at his feet, wiping them gently and kissing them before working my way up his legs.

Finally I took another fresh towel and proceeded to his face. I brushed his hair back from his brow and gently stroked his temples, cheeks, nose and chin before approaching his eyes. The lids fluttered as I passed the towel delicately across them. I planted a light kiss on each eyelid, but they remained closed. Then I slowly and carefully wiped my blood from his mouth before daring to place a kiss there. I parted his lips with my tongue before sliding it between them. There was no resistance, but no response either. I became slightly worried and I probed a little more deeply, more urgently. Then, with a tiny click, his fangs emerged and at last his tongue met mine and twined round it, slowly, lovingly. The kiss deepened, became more intense, and his hands came up to grip my upper arms. A slight twist and I was on my back and he was looking down at me, his blue, blue eyes gazing at me wonderingly. He said, "is there nothing I can deny you, you witch? Where the hell did you learn to do that?" Then he smiled, and his hands began to drift over my body, exploring me, arousing me, claiming me. He rubbed his long body against mine and his knee gently nudged my thighs apart. I could hardly credit it, but he was ready again. I knew his vampire virility was staggering but even so…I could feel his erection pressed against me, and with a deep sigh of happiness I opened to him and we made love slowly, gently, easily, each sharing our pleasure with the other. I drank from him, inhaling the faint scent of sandalwood, and he drank from me and afterwards we lay in each other's arms, drifting, not needing to talk, just happy to be close.

At last he got up, moving a little unsteadily, and went over to the table by his chair, where our drinks had lain neglected all evening. He took the tray back to the kitchen and I heard the microwave beeping as he warmed two fresh bottles. He brought them in and reclined with me again on the bearskin, handing me one of the bottles.

He toasted me, saying, "to Sookie Stackhouse Northman, the most remarkable woman of my acquaintance, and my wife," before taking a long draught of True Blood.

I raised my bottle to him. "To Eric Hrothgar Hjarvaldssen Northman, sheriff of Area five, my maker, my husband and my love." Then I drank, looking into his eyes. I had never had True Blood before. The taste was more metallic than the real thing, but I thought I could get used to it.

As we sipped our drinks together he asked, "how long do we get to keep all this?" gesturing at the Viking décor.

"I suppose it ought to go back tomorrow, really. I said I'd phone them when we had finished with it."

"Do you suppose they would let us keep the bearskin?" he murmured. "I think it looks really good there."

"I don't see why not, if we paid them for it. I think it would be expensive, though."

"It would be worth it." His hand caressed the long soft fur, and then he said. "It will soon be dawn. Shall we go through to the bedroom?"

"Okay," I said, happily, and we turned off the fire and the lights before moving to the bedroom. The sheets had been turned down on the huge bed, and the coffin-lid propped open. I slipped into a filmy black nightgown that I had laid ready. Eric had chosen to sleep _au naturel._

"Where would you like to rest today – coffin or bed?" he asked

"I don't care, as long as it's with you."

"Come then." He placed one knee on the bed and extended his left hand to me in a gesture of invitation and I gasped. Except that there was no fur robe concealing him, this was his Mr January pose from the Fangtasia nude vampire calendar that I had had on my wall for so many months, and that had fuelled my daydreams for just about as long. He smiled, and I came to his arms.

He held me close, kissing the top of my head and murmuring something in his own language, before lifting me and placing me gently on the silk sheets and joining me under the covers. I snuggled into the curve of his arm and rested my head on his shoulder, with one leg draped across him. My fingers toyed with the dark blond curls on his chest.

"Eric, what did you say earlier?"

"When?" he wasn't sure what I meant.

"When we were making love, you said something in a different language – Old Norse? Swedish? I don't know what."

"Did I? I don't remember. What did it sound like?"

"I can't say it like you, but it sounded like 'vad fan' and then just now you said 'min lilla fru.' Does that mean anything?"

He smiled, and repeated it with the correct accent. "It's a term of endearment in Swedish. It means 'my little wife.'"

"Oh. That's real sweet. And 'vad fan'?"

"Ah. That one's not so sweet. It means, uh, 'what the hell?' or words to that effect."

"Words to that effect?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Well, actually it means 'what the fuck?' Did I really say it?"

"Yes, the first time I, uh, surprised you."

"Oh. Yes. I remember now. But it's not a polite expression, so please don't repeat it."

"OK. What's Swedish for 'husband'?"

"That's an easy one. It's 'make'."

"So I could say 'min lilla make' to you?"

"Almost. _Min lill make _ would be grammatically correct, but still factually inaccurate. I'm hardly little. In any sense of the word." He smirked slightly.

"Okay, what's Swedish for 'my big husband? Or perhaps that should be 'my big-_headed_ husband?' "

He looked down at me. "Why this sudden interest in Swedish?"

"Well, I've noticed that when we're, um, making whoopee, you often say stuff in Swedish, and I just wanted to understand you."

"To me, Swedish is the language of love. The modern form of my native tongue."

"Will you teach it to me?"

He looked surprised. "Would you like to learn it?"

"Yes, I would. I think it would be kind of nice if you and I had our own language. Just the two of us. After all, I've got lots of time to learn it now, and they say there's nothing like learning from a native speaker. Would you teach me? Please?"

"If you really wish to, nothing would give me more pleasure. Well, almost nothing." He quirked an eyebrow. "As you say, it would be something _else _that we could share, apart from dynamite sex." He glanced at the clock. "We don't have time now, it will be dawn in a little while, but tomorrow night we'll begin."

My limbs began to feel heavy. I snuggled a little closer to his side. "Eric?"

"What?"

"This is my first night as a vampire; can I ask some questions?"

"Of course, my lover. As your maker it is my responsibility and privilege to answer any questions you may have about your new life."

"Will I dream?"

"No. The day passes so quickly you will barely be aware of it. It is not real sleep – it is simply that we cannot function. This is why we value our 'down-time' as you call it – it refreshes us."

"Do we move much in our sleep?"

"Again, no. If we go to rest like this, we will rise like this – and no pins and needles, either." He smiled.

"That's good. I want to sleep in your arms."

"Then you shall."

"Good night Eric."

"God natt, min älskare."

"Good night, my …lover?" I guessed, knowing his favourite endearment for me.

"Very good." He smiled in approval, and I closed my eyes, completely happy for the first time in a very long while, and slept.


	8. Chapter 8

**I had intended to finish this story at the end of Chapter 7, but quite a few people have been kind enough to say that they would like to read another chapter, so I've dug out an old idea of mine and polished it up a bit. I hope it fits, and that you don't think it spoils the tone of the rest of the story. It contains some of Eric's backstory and tries to explain why Ocella had such a powerful effect on him in Dead in the Family. I hope you like it – please review. Many thanks**

Chapter 8

The scent of blood drew me from my sleep. My fangs emerged, I opened my eyes, and met the smiling blue gaze of the most beautiful man in the world. Eric was sitting naked on the side of our huge bed, holding a crystal glass, full of something red, warm and smelling delicious. "Breakfast is served, madam," he said, and handed me the glass. Ahh, just what the doctor ordered. I drank it down and felt it warming me right to my toes. The room service here was perfect, and the waiter was delicious. Did I say delicious? I meant delightful. I think. He smiled and topped up my glass from a large thermos jug and I emptied it again, before registering something.

"Eric, is this True Blood?"

"No, my sweet, this is the real thing. Baby vampires can't survive on synthetics, whatever our PR people tell the media."

"_Baby_ vampires?" I laughed at the expression. "Is that what I am?"

"Of course. You are less than 24 hours old."

"It just sounds so silly."

He raised an eyebrow, and gave me yet another refill. "You think so? But you call me 'baby' all the time, and that's even sillier, when you consider _my _age."

"That's different. That's a…what did you call it last night? A 'term of endearment'."

"Whereas when I use it, it is the literal truth in vampire terms. You are a baby, and as a baby you will need lots of care and attention, and I am going to enjoy every minute of providing that for you." He smiled and leaned in to kiss my forehead.

"Mmmm. That's just giving me an incentive to never grow up."

"You will have to eventually, my sweet, but meanwhile you will need human blood in quantity for at least your first year. That's not a problem, it's readily obtainable." He held up the thermos jug again. "This was donated by some of the volunteers at Fangtasia last night. They were practically coming to blows for the honour of satisfying the thirst of the newest and loveliest vampire in Louisiana." His voice was full of pride, and I suspected it was pride of ownership, but I wasn't going to rain on his parade. Not today. If he was proud of me I was going to sit back and enjoy it.

A question occurred to me. "Eric, how come I've only just woken up and you're already up and about and have got me this?"

"That is a function of my age, sweetheart. Although I cannot go into the light, I can rise a little before dusk, and don't always fall asleep at dawn. Do you remember in Rhodes you were able to rouse me and not Pam? That is why I was able to wake you with breakfast in bed." He continued. "Have a little more, and see if you can identify it."

I sat up, nearly spilling the glass. "Identify it? Holy crap, Eric, this isn't someone I know, is it?" I was horrified at the thought.

"Firstly, don't use language like that, and secondly, of course it is not. I was referring to the blood-type, not the donor."

"Oh. Sorry." I lay back again, kind of deflated. I guess maybe I had over-reacted a little.

"Now, take a sip, let it rest on your tongue for a few seconds and then roll it round your mouth."

I looked at him. "Eric, this isn't a wine-tasting; I am _not_ gonna gargle and spit."

"I should hope not, beloved. It would not look good on our new carpet. No, I just want you to get used to different varieties. Can you remember what you enjoyed most last night?"

I thought back. They'd all been pretty yummy, I must admit, but if anything I remembered a slight inclination towards the blonds and I told him so. He smiled in satisfaction.

"That is what I picked up from you through our bond, and that is what we have here; pure blond." He lifted the jug and drank straight from it, smacking his lips in satisfaction. "I am glad our tastes coincide in this. I too prefer blondes."

I giggled. "Does that make you a gentleman?"

His brow creased in puzzlement. He didn't get the reference.

"There's a famous book and a film starring Marilyn Monroe, called Gentlemen Prefer Blondes."

"Ah, yes. I am familiar with Marilyn Monroe. She was splendidly pneumatic."

"Splendidly what?"

"Pneumatic. It means well-rounded; bouncy."

"Bouncy? ! ?"

"Yes." His tone was uncertain, slightly defensive. "I have read this word in a book by Aldous Huxley. Brave New World. It is a description of the heroine, who has large breasts and full, womanly, hips like Marilyn Monroe. Is pneumatic not a generally accepted term?"

"Not round here, it isn't. It means, well… inflated with air, like a car tire."

"Ah. As I said; well-rounded and bouncy." Now his tone was one of satisfaction at having been proved right.

"I don't know many women who would feel complimented if you said they were like a car tire, Eric."

"I see." He was thoughtful. "What expression would most women consider acceptable?"

"Well, I think 'curvy', or 'well-rounded' or even just plain 'feminine' would do it, but I'm kinda hoping you're not gonna be going round complimenting a whole lot of women any time soon. You're a married man, now, buddy." An eyebrow drifted upwards.

"Buddy? I believe we have spoken about your use of this word before, my lover. I should prefer it if you did not address me as 'buddy'. It is not an expression that commends itself to me." His tone was mild, but I could tell he meant it. Alright, I'd give him this one.

"Okay, honey. I guess my vocabulary's big enough to handle losing one word."

"Thank you, my own. And in case you were wondering, I don't know whether I am a gentleman or not, but the blonde that _I_ prefer is in my bed at this very moment. Now, finish your breakfast before it goes cold." He emptied the rest of the thermos into my glass and went through to the bathroom to rinse it out. Since he was out of the room, I surreptitiously tried his tasting technique, swirling the blood round my mouth and trying to decide if it tasted like the blonds I remembered from last night. I was busy doing this when I heard a faint choking sound and I looked up to see him standing in the doorway watching me, his eyes alight with laughter. I swallowed quickly and glared at him indignantly.

"My little love, you have no idea how irresistibly cute you look when you do that," he said, grinning.

"Well, it was your idea." I tried to pout, but it's hard to pout when your lips just want to curve up into a smile.

Dammit, I couldn't stay mad at him when he looked at me like that!

"Anyway, I can't be that irresistible, 'cause I'm in bed and you're still all the way over there."

As I smiled at him, the expression on his face changed to one that I recognised and loved, he growled deep in his chest and before I could say anything he was on the bed tossing the covers back and pushing my nightgown up above my breasts. He settled himself between my thighs and then his mouth was in a very special place, doing very special things. God, he was amazing! His tongue was like an eel, wriggling and probing, and my head went back, my hands clutched at the silk sheet and I started doing some wriggling myself. I was so glad the neighbours were some distance away. The noises I was making would probably have shattered their conservatory windows if we'd been much closer. Eric withdrew his mouth briefly to say, "Look at me, my wife," and with an effort I raised my head and looked down the length of my body. His eyes were so blue they reminded me of the Caribbean. They even had little sparkles in them, like sunlight on the waves. He smiled at me, his fangs extended, and then went back to work, nibbling and sucking, licking and kissing, all the while keeping his eyes fixed on mine. The tension built and built until he suddenly turned his head and sank his fangs into my inner thigh, drinking briefly from my femoral artery, and I felt a sunburst of supernova proportions and I was out of my head, seeing gold and white streaks, while the waves of ecstasy spread out from my centre and then his mouth was on mine, and his length was inside me, the softness of my flesh giving way before the firmness of his and I held him to me and felt his pleasure and he felt mine and we rode the wave together to the topmost sunlit crest before it came crashing down on us and we were both left gasping as the swell withdrew and we were back in our bodies, shaking and clutching at each other as the aftershocks rocked us. Oh man. Vamp sex was just _the best!_ I laughed with sheer delight at the worlds of pleasure that were yet to be explored with Eric as my guide. Blood and sex. Sex and blood. What a great start to the day.

Eric flopped over onto his back and lay next to me, staring up at the silk canopy above us, trembling slightly, a seraphic smile on his face. He never looked more beautiful than in the aftermath of sex. I wriggled over and laid my head in the hollow of his shoulder, my hand on his broad chest. His arm came round me and we lay together, silent, contented just to be with each other.

Eventually he spoke, his deep voice relaxed and comfortable.

"Sookie, if I had known that our bond would be so very special, I would have brought you over years ago."

I snorted. "In your dreams, fella." A thought occurred. "Can I call you fella?" He grimaced.

"I'm not wild about it, but if you must. Speaking of which, my lover, I suppose we do need to decide how you are going to address me in public."

"Why?"

"Do you recall our discussion regarding respect and how other vampires regard our relationship? We must be very careful. I cannot afford to give Victor any ammunition and he will take any opportunity he can to discredit or undermine me."

"So, what are you saying?"

"I think you need to confine all use of affectionate terms to our own home, my love. When we are elsewhere, it would be best if you address me simply as Eric."

"Are you sure you wouldn't prefer 'master'?" He noted the sarcasm, but chose to ignore it.

"That will not be necessary. Pam addresses me as master, but she is only my child, not my wife. You may call me Eric."

"Well, thanks a lot…" Ah oh. Get a grip, Sookie. R-E-S-P-E-C-T, remember? Rewind! I adjusted my tone of voice and tried again.

"Thank you for saying I don't have to call you master. What about when we're not at home but we're alone, like in your office?"

"Remember our enhanced hearing, my sweet. The office is not soundproof and any vampire in the club will be able to hear what we say. No, when we are at home, you may call me what you please – except for 'buddy', of course – but anywhere else it must be Eric. Will you remember this?"

"What will you do if I don't?"

"It would be better if you did." His tone was quite final.

"Yes, but what if?" I was pushing, I knew, but I needed to know where I stood.

"If you addressed me in an inappropriate fashion in the presence of other vampires, I would be expected to deal with it. Please do not put me to the test, Sookie. It would give me no pleasure to discipline you, but I would have to do so. Our relationship is very different now, and there are many eyes watching us. I do not wish to command you; I would much rather you agreed willingly, because you see the sense of what I am saying, but if I have to, then I will command you as your maker."

"Alright, Eric. For your sake, I'll try my hardest. If I do slip up, it will be an accident, not deliberate defiance, I promise. Will that do?"

He hugged me, smiling. "Thank you, my sweet. I know you will try. I think I am going to enjoy being your maker, seeing you grow into your new life. We will have a very special relationship, almost unique, and I will be the envy of every other maker in Louisiana."

Then I remembered something that had been puzzling me for a while. "Eric…"

"Yes?"

"You remember when Ocella and Alexei were with us? I know I was confused for a while, what with all the different blood-bonds and all, so I found it kind of difficult to pick up on what was you and what was him and what was Alexei, but I know I was getting some real bad vibes from you. I could tell you had major problems with him, but just why did Ocella freak you out so?"

His whole body went rigid. "What?" All trace of relaxation was instantly gone from his voice.

"Well, apart from the king and Victor and Sandy, you're the most powerful vampire I know; you're a sheriff, you're real old and strong. It just seems weird that he had that effect on you. I thought vamps were very attached to their makers. I know I am to mine." I smiled playfully and twirled my fingers in the blond curls on his chest, but for the first time I could ever remember he pushed my hand away, and rolled over abruptly so that he was lying with his back to me. "You would not understand." His voice was now cold and distant.

A hollow sinking feeling told me I'd trespassed. "Maybe not, but I'd like to try." I put my hand on his shoulder. "You're real important to me, honey, and what affects you affects me; even more, now you're my maker. I'm so sorry if I've said something I shouldn't have. Please don't say anything if you'd rather not, I don't want to upset you."

He remained silent for a few moments longer, and then turned back to me. His face was troubled. "Do you really want to know?"

"Not if it's something too personal. You have a right to your privacy."

"But I suppose you have a right to ask the question, as my wife. I have never told anyone else this, but for you, I will try." He sat up in bed, the sheet at his waist, and was silent a moment, collecting his thoughts. Then he took my hand in his and began.

"You remember I told you that Ocella had attacked me on the road one night, when I was a young man? Well, when I rose, I was hungry. You understand what I mean?" He looked at me, and I nodded I certainly did understand that now. Then he continued. "I had to feed. The nearest source of food was my own homestead, so I led Ocella straight there and we went to the barn, where I knew I would find Gottfried, one of my thralls, bedding down the horses for the night."

I interrupted him. "What's a thrall?"

"A slave." He was completely matter-of-fact about it.

"You owned slaves ? ! ?"

He glanced at me, irritated. "Of course. Everyone did. They were usually foreigners, taken in war. Gottfried was Frankish, I think – you would say French. My father had captured him in a raid many years earlier – I had known him since I was a small child. He taught me to ride my first pony." Eric paused for a moment, and then continued. "Everyone else had retired to the house, at some distance, so I knew he would be alone. He was really happy to see me, as I had been missing for two days, and he came to me smiling when I called him. I broke his neck. Then I fed on him." He looked at me as though expecting some comment, but I kept my thoughts to myself. Who was I to judge? How do I know what I would have been prepared to do in the same circumstances?

"While I fed, Ocella was exploring the barn. He came up behind me as I drank and told me to step back as he wished to feed also. I was still hungry and I defied him, possibly foolishly, and turned back to Gottfried's body." There was a pause as he clearly struggled with his memories. "Without warning he struck me down as I drank and I fell forward, stunned. You know that vampires grow stronger as they grow older? Well, Ocella was eleven hundred years old, and he was strong enough to pin me down with one hand between my shoulder blades, while he tore off my clothing with his other hand. Although dizzy from the blow I struggled but I could not rise and he raped me, there, across the body of my dead slave." He stopped speaking and I stared at him in horror. He looked straight ahead, his eyes unfocussed as though seeing across the long years back to that moment. His voice when he continued was quite level and controlled, but I could see that this was costing him something.

"When he had finished, he removed the slave-collar from the corpse's neck and fastened it round my throat, twisting the metal shut with his bare hands. Then he dragged me by my hair to stand with my back to the wall of the barn, and he tied my wrists to a hook in the wall above my head. He went back to Gottfried's body to feed and, not realising the strength I now had, I did not attempt to break free. When he had finished feeding, he went to his bundle and put on a pair of leather gloves and unhooked my favourite bridle from the wall, where it was hanging. I was very proud of that bridle, as I had won it in a wrestling contest the year before at the local fair. It was very ornate, and the reins were decorated along their length with rosettes of silver."

I gasped, as I had a horrible feeling I knew what was coming. Eric continued, his voice no longer quite so level.

"He smiled, unhooked the reins from the headstall, and struck me with them across my face. It burned like the fires of Hell, and I was blind with agony. Vikings are a warrior people, and I had been trained to bear my wounds silently, but I could not prevent a cry escaping me. He explained the nature of silver, and exactly what it could do, and then proceeded to drive home the lesson by giving me a further twenty lashes with the silver-chased reins, on my face, legs and naked body, not sparing any part of me."

He didn't have to draw me a picture – I knew exactly what he meant.

"As I was now vampire, the wounds from that beating did not last, but the memory of the pain and the fear will never leave me." Eric was now gripping my hand so tightly that my fingers were as white as his, but I couldn't bring myself to speak. He was lost in his memories.

"When he had finished he spun me round so my face was to the wall, and he raped me again. Then he untied me and ordered me to my knees. I was in too much pain and shock to resist, nothing like this had ever happened to me before. He fastened a rope to my collar, which was already uncomfortably tight as Gottfried had been a smaller man than I. Ocella warned me that if I interfered with the collar in any way he would replace it with a silver one, which he had ready in his belongings. Then he forced my head down and made me kiss his feet.

In my culture this was a sign of submission, and with that act, I, Erik Hrothgar Hjarvaldssen, warrior prince of Bjornstadt, became his naked, beaten, collared thrall. He tugged hard on the rope, and laughed when I asked him to loosen the collar a little. He said 'It is as it should be. You will always be aware of it, and so will always be aware that I am your master.' He was right. I wore his collar for more than a hundred years and I never forgot for a second that I was his thrall.

It was a time of great torment for me. I was drawn to him as my maker and yet repelled by him at the same time. He enjoyed sex with men rather than women, and this was a great disgrace among my people. Not for the abuser; he was seen as manly, imposing his control and dominance on the victim; It was the victim who was shamed and despised. I endured the humiliation for as long as I could, but one night, about three months after he had turned me, I was so desperate to get away that I waited until he was absorbed in gambling at a roadside inn and then I ran from him into the darkness. He knew I had fled, but he did not try to stop me. He wished to demonstrate his power, so he waited until I had gone about two miles and then he called to me. I didn't hear him, I _felt him_ in my blood. I tried to resist; but his blood in my veins was too strong and in the end my own body betrayed me; I crawled back to him, on all fours, weeping tears of blood, but unable to stop until I was kneeling at his feet, waiting for my punishment."

Eric stopped speaking, and I felt a terrible mix of emotions pouring through our bond as he remembered; Rage, humiliation, helplessness, self-loathing. His fists clenched and even though I was vampire, I yipped in pain as my hand was crushed. He glanced at me and released his grip, but I could feel the tension in his body. Clearly there was some crisis coming. Eventually I whispered, "What did he do to you?"

"He made me strip myself naked and then perform fellatio on him, publicly." This wasn't a term I had seen on my Word of the Day calendar, and he must have sensed my puzzlement, because he elaborated. "Oral sex, Sookie. He made me pleasure him with my mouth. That wasn't really the problem; after three months of his company I had become used to the act itself, but being forced to serve him in that way in front of a crowd of laughing, stinking peasants was almost more than I could bear." He was shaking with disgust and humiliation.

"But he hadn't finished with me yet. There was a big table in the middle of the room, and when I had finished pleasing him, he ordered me to bend over the table face down. Then he invited his filthy, drunken companions to use me for their pleasure in any way they wished for the remainder of the night." I tried to picture the scene; My Eric, stretched face down and helpless across a rough wooden table, in the candlelight, his golden hair hanging round his face, long legs spread, his hands gripping the wood as he waited for the next hideous, stinking lout to abuse him while his master laughed and diced nearby; the foul breath as his abusers whispered obscenities in his ears; the filthy hands clutching at his white flesh. I shuddered with nausea as he continued. "Something broke inside me that night. I never tried to run away again. No matter what he commanded, I simply said "yes, Master" and obeyed. For a very long time he exploited my obedience in any way he could, but eventually he grew bored with my lack of spirit, and he freed me, and allowed me to leave his side.

I have been free for over seven hundred years and in that time I have acquired great power. I am the oldest and strongest vampire in the kingdom; I am respected by the entire New World vampire community. You have seen me at Fangtasia – you know that my subordinates fear and obey me, the tourists admire me, the fang-bangers practically worship me; yet when Ocella appeared at your bedroom window that night, I remembered his collar about my throat and I was a slave again. If he had commanded it I would have knelt before him, and licked his boots. At his orders I would have stripped myself naked and allowed him to sodomise me again. I would even, my darling, have killed you if he had required it of me. I would have met the sun the following morning, but I would have had no choice but to obey him. Do you understand now why he "freaked me out" as you put it? Have I satisfied your curiosity sufficiently?"

His voice was bitter, but as he turned to look at me the stony expression on his face melted away at the sight of my tears and he released my hand to put his arms around me and hold me as I sobbed on his shoulder.

"Oh, Eric, I had no idea…" I could barely speak for the tears. What memories had I unlocked? How much harm had I done him, forcing him to remember?

"Sshhh," he soothed me and petted me. "It was a long time ago, and he wasn't all bad. He taught me everything I needed to know about being a vampire, and helped me to survive. Without him I would probably have been staked within a month. But human psychiatrists might well see a reason for my present need for control in those early experiences. There is nothing like having no control at all to make you value it."

"But he was so brutal to you." I mopped my eyes, with a kleenex from the container on the nightstand, leaving red stains on it. I was startled for a second, and then remembered.

"Life was harsh for everyone in those days," said Eric. "Ocella was a man of his time, no better or worse than most others. Mind you, I must admit, when I was being exhibited naked for peasants to stare at, I frequently regretted not being kinder to my own thralls."

"What? He exhibited you like an animal?" I was horrified.

"In southern Europe the men were small and dark and had never even heard of Vikings, let alone seen someone of my stature and colouring. I was tall and broad even for my race." Eric's voice was now more reflective as he remembered his earlier life. He probably hadn't thought about these things for decades, maybe centuries. "Ocella had a number of very ingenious ways of making money from me. In the smaller settlements I was just exhibited as a freak, the "Wild man of the North", but in larger communities I was usually hired out to the local brothel. I was chained to a couch and my body was made available to anyone who had the price. It wasn't too bad, as I was sometimes permitted to feed on one of the girls at the end of the night. I learned a lot." He smirked, briefly, and then continued. His bitterness seemed to have passed. All I was getting from the bond was a vaguely reminiscent mood.

"When we came to sophisticated cities like Constantinople, he would usually make quite a lot of money hiring me out to orgies and the more decadent feasts as a kind of novelty, to add spice to their jaded appetites." He smiled ruefully. "I was the star attraction at some of them. I remember one party in Venice at the palace of the Doge. It was the most beautiful building I'd ever been taken to, with marble pillars and fresco-ed walls and lit by hundreds of giant chandeliers hanging from golden hooks in the painted ceilings. The palace guards suspended me naked, in silver chains, from one of these hooks, and the guests were invited to test for themselves the vampires' legendary healing ability, by torturing me in whatever way their imaginations could devise and then watching me heal until someone else thought of something even more ingenious." He paused. "That was a _very_ long night."

I could barely speak for disgust. Eventually I managed to say, "was he a total sadist?"

Eric looked at me in some surprise. "No, not at all. He didn't let any of them damage me permanently – no staking or mutilation. And he stopped two of them who wanted to tear out my fangs with red-hot pincers. For some reason, fangs always take longer to grow back than anything else. You must remember that I was his. He owned me absolutely, the way you would own a horse or an item of clothing. He genuinely had the right to do whatever he chose to me, and I had accepted that. He wasn't just my master; he was my maker."

Ah oh. I _really _didn't like the sound of that. "Does that mean you own me in the same way?"

He hugged me. "Times have changed, Sookie. Technically, yes, but there is nothing on earth that would make me treat you in that way, and in fact it would be disapproved of by the majority of vampires today. We have evolved, or most of us have, and we recognise that anything beyond necessary discipline is undesirable. If a maker is too brutal, you end up with someone like Micky." He was speaking of a really mean vampire who belonged to a neighbouring sheriff and who had given my friend Tara some problems a while back. "What Ocella did was not unusual for that time, but it wasn't all bad, sweetheart; I was a warrior, remember, and sometimes he took wagers on my fighting prowess. Or on my other skills." He smiled, reminiscently. "I remember one orgy in Constantinople when he bet the host that I could give every guest in the place an orgasm, one after the other, men and women alike. There were difficulties, of course; The men were scared about being so close to a vampire and the women were scared for, er, other reasons." Here he glanced at me to be sure I understood his meaning. I did. God had been more than generous with Eric in that department. He smirked slightly, and continued. "So, it was agreed that I would be chained on my knees with my hands behind my back, I could only use my mouth, and I had only five minutes to satisfy each guest."

"why only five minutes?"

"Well, there were only eleven hours of darkness that night, as I recall."

I took in the implications of what he was saying, and then tried to do the math, but had to give up and ask. "How… how many guests were there?"

"One hundred and twenty-three."

I didn't know quite how to phrase the next question. "And did you…did he…?"

"Did I win his wager for him? Oh yes. It made him quite wealthy, really, because word got around and demand for my services increased dramatically. In fact, he told me that he had received some very flattering offers to purchase me, including one from a Pasha, who wanted me for his harem."

"I thought harems were for women."

"Not this particular Pasha. His tastes were quite eclectic."

"But Ocella didn't sell you."

"Obviously not. The maker-child bond is too strong. Also, he made a great deal more money from renting me out."

"So you never got to meet the Pasha."

"Oh yes, I met him. Just, not face to face. If you know what I mean." His composure was astonishing, but I knew he was making light of the situation to cover up what this confession had cost him. I wanted to do something to make it up to him and I had just the thing.

"So, have you ever owned a slave since you were freed?"

"No. I've been to slave auctions of course, and occasionally I've been tempted but I could never quite bring myself to put the money down. Besides, as a vampire I can glamour people into doing what I require. Usually."

"Have you never seen anyone you _really _wanted to own, body and soul, since then?"

"Only you, my lover, and now I _do_ own you." He smiled, and so did I. He had given me the cue I needed. I slid from the bed. "I'll be right back," I said and went into one of the other bedrooms. There were some items I had been keeping in there, waiting for the right moment to come along. I had purchased them from an e-company on Pam's advice as part of my trousseau. She said it would pique Eric's interest. Eventually, I hoped I wouldn't have to keep asking my husband's ex-lover for advice, but she'd sure been on the button over the whole p-spot thing. I swiftly pinned up my hair, and then opened the carton. There was a very, _very _tiny tunic in black silk which I squeezed into. It was extremely tight, and I thought he might have some difficulty removing it. There was also a gleaming (non-silver) collar and a light set of chains which I quickly donned, consisting of wrist cuffs with a chain running between them, and two more to the collar, forming a graceful triangle. I renewed my make-up, and applied his favourite scent liberally. Then I tiptoed back to the other room, trying not to jingle. I felt a little like Marley's ghost. Before I entered, I called out, "shut your eyes".

"What are you planning now, woman?" He sounded slightly alarmed. After my little surprise of the night before, he was exhibiting a certain amount of caution.

"You'll find out. Are they shut?"

"Oh, all right." He grumbled, but the bond told me he was definitely interested.

I slipped into the room as quietly as I could, thanking my lucky stars that as a vampire I was now Stealth Sookie, and I knelt at the foot of the high bed, where I knew he couldn't see me. Then I placed my hands on my thighs, and said, "you can open your eyes now."

"Where are you?" he sounded puzzled, because of course I was too low down for him to see me.

"Here, master." The sheets rustled as he moved to look over the end of the bed, and I lowered my head in what I hoped was an appealing attitude of submission. I heard him utter a short exclamation in Swedish (probably) and I ventured to look up. His blue eyes were blazing down at me and his mouth was open in astonishment. I smiled shyly.

"Your slave awaits your pleasure, master," I said. His expression changed and with an almost audible click his fangs extended to their fullest length and then he was standing naked in front of me. I bent forward and gently kissed and licked his feet. He hissed softly and I looked up.

"How may your slave serve you, master?" I enquired softly.

He bent and lifted me by the forearms, and stood me on my feet before placing a finger under my chin to raise my head so that he could examine my collar. He leaned down and ran his tongue across it. Then he hooked his index finger into the front of it and towed me round to the side of the bed. There he loosed my hair from its clips before picking me up and placing me gently on my back on the crumpled sheets. He briefly examined the fastenings on my chains before re-configuring them quickly and neatly until I found my hands chained to the posts at the head of the bed. He positioned me to his satisfaction, moved to the foot of the bed and stood there, taking in the view. He must have liked what he saw, because he growled and began moving towards me over the foot of the bed, approaching on all fours with feral grace.

By this time I was feeling somewhat vulnerable and definitely aroused. When he was kneeling on either side of my thighs, he ran his hands across my brief tunic, savouring the feel of my body through the silk, and I grew even more excited.

"What…" I said, but got no further.

"silence, slave," he growled and suddenly my concerns that he might have some difficulty removing my tunic seemed irrelevant, because he put one hand in the neckline and casually tore out the entire front of the garment, discarding it to the side and leaving me completely exposed. I gasped at the suddenness and violence of the movement, and I was about to protest when he came down on me like a lion on a gazelle.

I responded as best I could, but this was not the gentle mutual exchange of pleasure between a loving couple; this was the violent use of a slave by a master who knew exactly what he wanted and intended to extract every ounce of pleasure from his property. His hands were at my breasts, squeezing and tormenting them, tugging fiercely at the golden rings, before his cool touch roamed to other parts of my body. His mouth pillaged mine, my tongue felt like it was being sucked down his throat, and I tasted blood as my lips were crushed beneath his assault. He must have tasted it also, because his attack intensified. His knee nudged my thighs apart and then my body was being pounded into submission by the relentless assault of his manhood.

His mouth left mine, but I was too stunned to cry out; I could hardly gasp for breath as he licked and kissed and chewed around the collar I had put on for his enjoyment. He seemed incredibly attracted to it and aroused by it. I could feel his fangs against my neck and suddenly there were gold and white streaks in my brain as his thrusts increased in speed. I was losing control when suddenly he raised his head and looked into my eyes. I had the strangest sensation of being scorched by the intensity of his gaze. "Surrender to me, slave!" he demanded in a hoarse voice. I was not sure what he wanted and he repeated his command, even more urgently. I gasped out, "I surrender to you, master, I am yours," hoping it was what he needed to hear, and his eyes burned with exaltation and mastery. His fangs plunged into my neck on either side of the slave-collar and I cried out with pain and joy as he took me over the edge, where seconds later he joined me in his own climax, drinking from me while he thrust his way to victory and release between my thighs.

He collapsed on top of me, and lazily licked at the tiny wounds on my neck, even though he no longer need to do that as they would heal automatically. I think it was just habit. after a few minutes he rolled off me and lay on his back, looking up at the ceiling. Then he turned his head to look at me and smiled. I smiled back, and he reached up and unfastened the chains from the bedposts before lying down again. I sat up and was just about to speak when he placed his finger on my lips, motioning me to silence. He clearly wanted to savour the moment, and I was about to lie next to him when he spoke. "Kneel, slave." He obviously wanted to keep the game going a little while longer, so I obediently knelt next to him on the bed, my hands on my thighs, waiting for his next command.

"Clean my face, slave." I leaned forward and gently licked my own blood from his lips and chin. He opened his mouth and my tongue gently caressed his fangs. He definitely liked that. His arms came round me and we began to kiss, long and slow. My own fangs had run out and his tongue curled round them, sending shivers all over me. Then he kissed along the line of my jaw to my ear, and he nibbled my earlobe, making me gasp as a bolt of lightning ran straight to my pelvis. Then his mouth moved a little lower, his tongue flickering in between the collar and my neck; it seemed to fascinate him. I would have loved to have bitten him in my turn, but I restrained myself; this was about him at the moment. After my fun and games last night, it was his turn to call the shots. Eventually he stopped and said, "You may clean the rest of me now." I began to get off the bed to go in search of a washcloth when his hand on my arm stopped me. "With your mouth, slave." I got the strong feeling that this was closely connected to what he had told me earlier in the evening, so I moved down the bed until I was opposite the object of many of my better daydreams and leaned forward. He put his hands behind his head and gazed dreamily upwards. His fangs had now retracted fully and he was smiling. He looked so beautiful that I repressed a shiver of lust as I bent to my work.

As I gently licked and sucked him clean, he began to stir. I couldn't believe he was ready to go again, but the evidence was there in front of me. I bent to my task again, nuzzling his thighs and paying particular attention to the sensitive area at the base of his penis and by the time I had finished he was making little sounds and his hips were moving almost involuntarily. I knelt back and said, "is there anything else your slave can do for you, master?"

"You know there is." His voice was husky and he reached out and lifted and turned my body as if it was as light as a feather, seating me astride his waist. His upper body strength was phenomenal. He removed the wrist-chains by the simple expedient of snapping them with his long white fingers. "Now, clasp your hands behind your neck. Don't move them until I give you permission." I complied, although it felt a little exposed. I had to admit, though, the pose did show off my breasts nicely. "Now, slave, pleasure me." This was going to be different from last night. Then, I was in control, but now it was most definitely him. I obediently slid a little further down his body, kneeling up as he reached down and positioned himself below the entrance to my body. Then he gripped my hips and began to move me downwards, very _very _slowly, until he was almost completely engulfed within me and I was moaning in an agony of anticipation. I just wanted more of him; I wanted _all _of him. My eyes were closed, my fists were clenched in my hair and my fangs were fully extended as I said "Yes! Oh, yes! Oh, Eric….!"

"Master." He swiftly corrected me. I opened my eyes and looked into his. He wasn't kidding. I rose up almost his entire length before swiftly impaling myself to the full on his erection. He cried out at that, in what was presumably Old Norse, and I began to use my interior muscles to squeeze his length as firmly as I could. It was hard work, but from the look on his face and the sounds he was making it was worth it. I began to move on him and his hip movements matched mine but as I began to speed up he said "slowly," and used his hands on my hips to guide me into the rhythm he desired. Then his cool white hands drifted across my breasts, caressing lightly, twisting and tugging the rings as I sighed in ecstasy. He stroked my cheek and I turned my head and kissed his hand softly, calling him my master, as this seemed to turn him on more than anything.

Suddenly his hands were back at my hips and before I knew what was happening our positions were reversed and I was looking up at him as he assumed the position of the dominant male. He looked down at me with a exultant expression on his face and his hips started their relentless motion again. My hands were still behind my head, and I could not reach for him, so I raised my upper body and took his nipples into my mouth in turn. They were hard and erect, and I teased them with my tongue. "Use your fangs," he whispered, so I nipped them just a little. He made a sound deep in his chest and his pace quickened, and before I knew it our bodies were convulsing in climax and he was again crying out in his own language before allowing himself to collapse on top of me again. I decided my hands could move now, so I held him and caressed his broad muscular back and twined my fingers in his beautiful silky hair, and I whispered sweet nothings to him as he lay with his eyes closed, completely spent.

Eventually he opened his eyes and looked at me. His fangs were fully retracted now and he seemed relaxed and peaceful. His eyes fell on my collar, and he stroked it gently, smiling.

"Over the centuries I have been given many gifts by people seeking my favour or my protection; furs, jewels, gold, horses, weapons. But that was the most beautiful gift anyone has ever given me," he said softly.

"Any time," I replied.

"What made you do it? How did you guess I would enjoy it so much? I've never told anyone this."

"Well…" I hesitated, slightly reluctant to speak out. "I could see that what you told me wasn't easy for you, and I felt that you kind of made me a gift of your honesty, even though it hurt you. I wanted to give you a gift right back, and I just got the feeling that although you haven't owned a slave in a long time you would kind of really like to. I can't give you a real one, not these days, but I wondered if you would like to own your own slave again, even if only for a little while. Was I right?"

I was a little bit doubtful now that I was saying it out loud, but he smiled and said, "You were more right than you could possibly know. Somehow, your gift seems to have restored something in me; something that's been missing for almost longer than I can remember…"

"Maybe what was missing was your self-respect, sweetheart. Perhaps for all these years you've had a damaged view of yourself because of what Ocella did to you, and forced you to do when you were powerless, and that's why you've striven so much for power over others, demanding their respect. Now that Ocella is dead and someone's given you power over them of their own free will, without your taking it by force or glamouring them, maybe you feel you don't have to try quite so hard any more."

"I don't know; I'm no psychiatrist, but I do know that I feel good right now." He rolled off me and lay on his right side, looking down at me, propping up his head on one hand and gently tracing my contours and hollows with the other. "How about you? Did you enjoy being my slave?"

"Weirdly, it somehow felt fine. I mean, I don't believe in re-incarnation or any of that stuff, but if I did I might almost believe that I had been your slave in a former life. It didn't feel odd or anything, and I …." I stopped and if I'd still been human, I would have blushed.

"Go on," he prompted.

In a rush I said "I just loved kneeling at your feet. I know I did it when I offered you my fealty, but this felt different. Maybe it's because now you really are my master and I know I would do anything you demanded and you would do anything to keep me safe. That's why I kissed your feet. I hadn't planned to – it just felt right. Does that sound kinky and wrong? I mean, I'm not into S & M or bondage or anything like that; it just felt…right. Sorry."

He sat up in bed then, and took me into his arms and I snuggled there, held and loved and safe.

"My darling, please don't say sorry. There is nothing you could do in our lovemaking that I would consider wrong. It felt natural to me too; I loved having you at my feet. Maybe this was just meant to be." He paused, before continuing. "As we're being so honest with each other tonight, may I ask something more?"

"You can ask," I said, slightly cautiously.

This time it was his turn to hesitate. "That collar – it's so beautiful on you, and such a turn-on for me. I could hardly take my eyes off it." He stroked it lightly, and my body quivered under his touch. "Would you be willing to wear it a little longer for me? Hidden under your clothing if you like."

"Well, sure, but it's only a cheap imitation thing; I don't think it'll last very long."

"Maybe I should buy you a real one, in white gold, encrusted with diamonds and with my name engraved on it." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Think again, mister," I said. "I'm not a pet."

"Very well. It was only a passing thought."

"Well, it can just keep right on passing through. You don't need anything to remind you who I belong to."

"Say it, Sookie. Say the words. For me." He looked deep into my eyes, and I knew this was important to him.

"I belong to you, Eric. I always will." He smiled, delightedly.

"Then I think I shall set about claiming my territory," he said, and that's exactly what he did.


End file.
